Life Is Strange After the Storm Episode 2 Time Is Power
by WickDaLine
Summary: Arcadia Bay has risen again after six months from it's derelict. Meanwhile, as Max struggles to find answers about the end of time, she and Chloe soon come across an old friend they thought to be long dead. The consequences of Max's choice run deep as she is about to pay an even bigger price for it than she had in the past.
1. Appointment

**Notice:**

 **This is the second episode of a series. If you haven't read the first episode, be sure to read it on my profile. Thank you.**

 **And here I am giving you Life is Strange Season 2 Episode 2: Time is Power! Probably came sooner than you expected. Anyways, enjoy this chapter and enjoy this episode as I write and keep it updated!**

Previously on Life is Strange: After the Storm...

"Max, its time," said Chloe.

"Not anymore," said Max tearing the butterfly photo. Her only key to saving the townspeople of Arcadia Bay.

"Max, I'll always be with you."

"Forever."

"If we're gonna be out of town, we should probably find somewhere to stay for the night," Max suggested. "Maybe we can stay at my parents house in Seattle."

"You want us to travel that far out of the state?" Chloe asked.

"Why not. It's the only place I know where it hasn't been bombarded by a twister. Maybe we can spend the night at a motel or something incase we can't make it that far today."

"Chloe, they survived!"

"What?"

"My Mom just texted me saying they're survivors. Including your mother!"

"Really?!"

"Yes, really!"

"Shit, I better let Mom know where we are!"

"Hey, hey, Max!"

"Dad!" Max gave her Father a big hug.

"Good to see you again." Ryan then turned to Chloe seeing how much she'd changed over the past five years. "Chloe, is that you?"

"Yo," said Chloe giving Ryan the piece sign.

"Wow, so much can occur in five years," Ryan admitted giving Chloe a hug. "It's good to see you too, Chloe."

"Great seeing you again, as well, Ryan."

"Come inside. Your Mother's waiting for the both of you, Max."

Ryan let the both of them in. Max could hear her Mother's voice across the hallway.

"Is that our little girl I hear, Ryan," Vanessa called from down the hall.

"The one and only, Vanessa," replied Ryan. "And she brought an old friend along the way."

Vanessa gasped at her daughter seeing Max and Chloe both on sight. "Max, sweetheart!"

"Mom!" Max gave her Mother a hug as tight as she hugged her Father. Vanessa turned to Chloe. Seeing how much she'd changed, as well.

"Well, look at you, Chloe," said Vanessa. "How lovely to see you here."

"Right back at ya, Vaness," Chloe said to Vanessa giving her a hug.

"You sure have changed a lot since we left Arcadia."

"Mm, Max," said Chloe with her mouth full. "I've never been to such an incredible place where every fast food franchise is right in front of your face."

"I'm telling, Chloe," said Max taking a bit from her burger. "This is my treat I bring to you. The opportunity of a lifetime."

Max and Chloe swallowed their food and cleared their mouths.

"Something tells me that without you power, Max, we wouldn't have made it this far."

"No shit. And there you were giving me that photo just to throw our new relationship away."

They laughed.

When Max put on her new sweatshirt, she felt ringing in her ears and saw her nose bleeding in the mirror. Then something startled her. A shadow figure with glowing blue eyes and a glowing red hot sparkle in it's chest translucently flashed through Max's reflection. Suddenly, the lights blew out and the room went dark. Max gasped in horror. Then she was no longer in the room. No longer in her stall. No longer anywhere. She was now in a pitch dark area where her new shirt glowed purple and where she saw a tree sparking bolts of electricity. It almost reminded her of the Whomping Willow from Harry Potter.

 _"What the fuck is this? What's going on? Why am I here? What kind of place is this?"_

The confounded photographer walked up slowly to where the tree was. In attempt to approaching the tree, she saw the spirit doe she had thought to be her spirit animal standing next to the tree. Then the blue butterfly, the same butterfly that took place of Chloe's pre-set death warrant, flew past Max flying up to the tree and landing on a branch. Out of nowhere, the shadow figure teleported behind Max with a very deep and vibrant voice.

"Max."

The voice startled Max as she swiftly turned to where it came from noticing she was back in the stall. The lights were on and she had snapped back to reality.

"Max," Chloe called from the stall next to Max's. "You okay? Something startle you?"

"I'm fine," lied Max. "It was just a spider I saw crawling on the ground."

"Max, what was that?"

"I...I don't know."

"Max, what did you just do?"

"I - I just threw that rock...and it just froze?"

Max and Chloe stared at each other briefly. Then Max picked up another rock and threw it in the air thrusting her hand in front of her to test this new power. Then the rock froze itself just like the other rock. The two of them observed the rock that stood still from a distance until it fell in the water.

"Wowser."

"Sure, Chloe," Max replied sarcastically. "I'm just fine. The fact that I just took six-hundred lives for yours, we run away to Seattle like nothing occurred, I have visions of spirit animals and shadows, and now I'm turning into a fucking X-Man who can stupefy time, I'm just A okay!"

"Max, come on. Just chill the fuck out for a moment, okay?!"

"Chill the fuck out for moment?" Max scoffed. "Is that all you got to fucking say? Huh? Is it?"

"Max, I don't know what to tell you, okay?! Shit. You know, I don't like this anymore than you do, but we can figure something out. Keep it between you and me, as always."

"Psft. I'm done keeping it between us. I didn't ask for this shit!"

"Says the girl who tore the photo that was the key to making Chloe Price the martyr of Arcadia Bay!"

"Oh, fuck you, Chloe. I didn't tear that photo just so we can live happily ever after and kiss Arcadia Bay goodbye. I did it so we could forget about my power and forget last week ever happened! Forget every fuck up I set ourselves up for ever happened!"

"Well, it has happened, Max! Live with it, okay?! You and I both know we wanted to reestablish our relationship from the very beginning. Not since the day you first saved me, but since the day you left Arcadia Bay. So how could you say you never asked for this shit?"

"I never asked for super powers, Chloe. I never asked to be a She-Marty McFly with a Flux Capacitor for a heart and a time circuit for brain. All I ever I asked for was normal life between you and I."

"I was just like you when I was your age. I had a lousy Father. A lousy childhood. No Mother, and I got into a lot of mischief as you always had. I had no sense of discipline whatsoever. Then I was enlisted into the military and started fighting in the war in Afghanistan. Then I retired from the army, married Joyce, and then you came barreling into my life as I came barreling into yours. Since then, I've always asked myself, what do I know about raising a kid?"

"Chloe," Max began. "David is offering something to make your life better. Don't push him back now.

"Listen everyone, okay?! I don't agree, alright?! In fact, I love Chloe more than I love photography!"

"Max Caulfield, think about what you just said," said Vanessa.

"Oh, I think I've thought plenty, Mom. You have no idea how emotionally twisted of a week it has been for me and her."

"Max," the voice called over to her. The voice jumped Max and gasped as she turned towards the same shadow like figure with blue glowing eyes and red-hot chest that she saw in her previous vision.

"The time has come for you to learn," said the shadow with his demonic voice.

"Wha? Who-Who are you?!" Max asked the shadow with a confused look.

"Who I am is of no importance. All that is of importance is what is about to come. Now is not the time to be puzzled, Maxine Caulfield. The end of time is coming. And when that day comes, you must be prepared. Now it begins."

"I was in this frozen forest where I saw my spirit again. Then I found myself in Portland where I saw a this humongous hole in the sky hovering over a skyscraper. Then I saw that shadow figure again and tells me that the end of time is coming. Sometime next year. Six months from now. Just tell you believe me. No matter how crazy I sound."

"Max, I'll believe whatever you say. But you have to promise me something. Promise me you'll try to suppress your obsession with your visions and get hold of your time bending, okay? Tell me, do you promise? Do you?"

"I promise."

Prologue

12 Months Earlier...

Chloe

April 19th, 2013 5:01 AM

3 days before Rachel's disappearance...

I was fast asleep in my bedroom tucked under the blankets of my bed. My bedroom door then creaks open and slowly shuts behind someone. The person sneaking in my room then creeps up to my bed and hovers over my body where I sleep. As the intruder hisses over my head, I slowly open my eyes to see someone biting me on the neck. I instantaneously wake up startled and gasped. Accidentally knocking her down on the floor.

"Jesus!" I shout. Then I see my girlfriend on the floor giggling. "Rachel?"

"Ow, Chloe," she says smiling. "I landed on my damn hip."

"The fuck are you doing here, Rachel," I ask getting off the bed. "It's five in the morning. You're gonna wake up my parents. How did you get in here?"

"I snuck in through the backyard and climbed up the window in the hallway," she explained getting back on her feet. "Didn't want to wake your parents by ringing the doorbell and using the front door anyways."

"Why are you here, Rachel? And why are up so early? Couldn't this wait 'till later?"

"Unfortunately, Chloe, it can't. Class starts in four hours and I want to do this before so."

"Is that right," I say stretching my arms and with yawn. "Well, what is that you want to do before class begins?"

"Well...let's just say I'd like to go somewhere we're not supposed to."

"Great, the last time we went somewhere we weren't supposed to, you had to leave me behind so I could get arrested for four hours."

"No, Chloe, this is different. Listen, yesterday I found this abandoned place here in Arcadia Bay. I think its some kind of fun house or whatever."

"And how do you know its a fun house? And how to you know its abandoned."

"Last time I checked, it was shut down three years ago. Duh. It's by the junkyard."

"Fine, but I'm gonna have to get changed. I'm not going out in my jammy pants."

"Whatever you say, Chloe. We can take my bike if you want. Unless you want to take your truck?"

"No, Rachel. You brought your bike, and so we take it."

"Alright, Chloe. I'll be waiting outside. Just don't let your Step-Faggot catch you on the way out."

"Hey, if either my Mom or my Step-Faggot find out that I've snuck out of the house without telling them, they will kill me."

"Neither one of them is going to find out, okay? We'll be back before six or seven-ish. They'll never know. And trust me, it'll be trouble free going to where we're going. I won't get you in trouble this time."

Chapter 1 Appointment

Max

April 11, 2014 8:09 AM

Present day...

6 months after the storm...

I had scheduled an appointment with my psychiatrist Dr. Elliot Thomas. Dr. Thomas had a PHD degree and was an expert on parapsychology. He had been helping me get through my visions and my condition effected by my powers for the past since six months as Arcadia Bay slowly rebuilt itself. Although, I have told him about my visions, I never told him about my power.

I sit across from him in front of his desk and he holds a card in front of me that had shape on it, but it was turned around so I could guess what it would be.

"Tell me what this one is," he asked.

I think hard to determine what it is. I could use my time vision, but Dr. Thomas would get suspicious.

"Its...a square," I said.

"Correct," he said turning the card over. Then he held another card. "Tell me what this one is."

I think hard.

"A...circle."

"Good," Dr. Thomas replied turning the card. "Getting better at this everyday. Now tell me what this one is."

I think harder this time. I could actually get this one wrong. But with my first gut, I go with it.

"A row of wavy lines."

"Very good, Ms. Caulfield," Dr. Thomas complemented. "I think that does it for today. So Ms. Caulfield, I may have a few questions to ask before you go. You have been taking your medication every day, have you?"

"Yes, Dr. Thomas. I have."

"Now, Ms. Caulfield. May I ask you this. These nightmares you've been having. About the end of time you say. Do you still believe time really is coming to an end?"

I sigh. Then take a deep breath.

"It's alright, Max," he said. "I know it's rough, but all I want is your honesty and a straight answer."

"Well...to be honest, I don't know what to think anymore. Every now and then I think its coming. I just don't when. All the dreams just feel so real, they have to be telling me something. I know they are."

"Mm. Have they ever told you when? When the end of time is near?"

"I've actually been doing some research about my condition. Just to try and find the answers, but could never find any."

"That's great, Ms. Caulfield. But you didn't answer my question. Have your dreams told you when the end of time would be?"

"No Dr. Thomas, they have not. That's why I've been researching on the internet about my condition. I've spent six months doing so. I take a break from doing so every now and then. I'm only trying to take matters seriously. Whether anyone believes me or not, I know the end is near. And when it comes, who knows what will happen."

Dr. Thomas looked at his watch.

"I'm afraid we're out of time, Ms. Caulfield. This is where I let you go. In the meantime, I'll call your parents about your session results and your condition so far. Just don't forget to take your meds every day. You have a wonderful day at school."

"Thanks Doc. I appreciate it."

As soon as I leave Dr. Thomas's office, I walk back into the waiting room of the psychiatry center where Chloe waits for me. Sitting down playing 'Angry Birds' on her phone. She put her phone down when she noticed me walking in.

"Well, what did he say this time," she asked.

"Same old shit. Just don't forget to take my meds is all."

"You sure he didn't say anything special?"

"Well he did ask me about my dreams and visions. As I just said, same old shit."

"And did you give him different answers?"

"Chloe, I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Max, stop telling me you don't want to talk about. It's not okay. I know you'd want to talk about. You're just to stubborn to talk about it."

"Somehow I'm the stubborn one now. That makes us even."

"Yeah it does. You helped me make my life easier before. Here I am returning the favor."

"How exactly are you returning the favor? All do is just tell me to let it be or to let it go and where does that get me?"

"Max, all I'm trying to do is to get you to lay off your obsession with your visions make sure your able to sustain yourself from that. Let alone keep you from exposing yourself from your powers. It's the best I can do."

"Class starts in less than forty-five minutes. You should go. I'm just gonna take the bus."

"Why?"

"I just need some time alone. I'll get back to you after class."

 **Note:**

 **As you can see, Rachel was my surprise character in a flashback scene with Chloe. One of the things that Season 1 lacked was Rachel's back story or at least showing her physically with her back story. So I'm only doing what Dontnod couldn't. Expect more flashback scenes with Rachel to come in future chapters.**

 **In the first season, Max had side effects from her power. Which was nose bleed. When she starts seeing a psychiatrist for her visions, she's given a prescription for special medication to suppress her side effects. That's the best I can explain.**

 **As you may know, it's been six months after the disaster and Arcadia Bay has had six months to rebuild itself. The next chapter will have further details. Also I've decided to date every chapter and place certain chapters from different perspectives. Then write them in first person. Something I'm doing differently to make this episode more interesting.**

 **BTW, I'm giving Rachel her own personal transport. That is a motorcycle. Also, I'll be going out of town for the weekend. So I might not start writing the next chapter until I'm back.**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**

 **P.S. (no spoilers) They'll be another surprise to come in the future of this episode.**


	2. 182 Days Without An Incident

**I apologize for the delay, but I had taken a trip to Disneyland this 4th of July weekend which was hella fun and amazeballs, as Chloe would say. Told ya I may not start writing 'till I get back. Now that I'm back, the next chapters will come by quicker. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2 182 Days Without an Incident

Max

April 11th, 2014 8:21 AM

The bus arrives at the bus stop by the psychiatry center and I hop on, find a seat, and I'm on my way to Blackwell. I plug in my pair of headphones and listen to 'The Scientist' by Coldplay.

You don't often wake up in the morning telling yourself you'll be a time traveler in order to save the love of your life the day she's tragically killed. I know I didn't. It was hard to believe that in less than a week the inhabitants of my power would create a vortex of mass destruction killing six-hundred people and the town being declared a destruction zone in Oregon. Six months later, the town is as good as new. Six months ago, there were thirteen hundred people living in Arcadia Bay. Today, only nine-hundred in fifty. Including newcomers.

Every now and then I think to myself, what was the true inevitability I had to face. The so-called death of Chloe Price or the storm laying waste to Arcadia Bay? There are people in this town who had lost friends and family to the mess I created. There were even some students from Blackwell who were caught in the crossfire. Not very many, however. A boy named Luke didn't survive. A girl from the Vortex Club named Sarah didn't survive. As well as a few others who never made it out of the storm alive. Nathan Prescott was indeed part of the Vortex Club, but had been shot and killed by Jefferson the night before the storm. So that made two Vortex Club members erased from the board.

I sit on my seat hovering next to the window as the bus drives me to school. Some students from Blackwell such as Evan, Alyssa, Daniel, Dana, Stella, Logan, and Hayden were on the bus with me. The bus drives through the rehabilitated town of Arcadia. Back to the way I remember it. I look out my window seeing my hometown non-desecrated and back to the way I remember it. No National Guard. No military vehicles. No nothing. Just the good citizens of Arcadia Bay walking and driving safely every day and night in their own neighborhoods. As well as rebuilt homes with rebuilt public and economic property.

Every once in a while, I would occasionally use my powers for whatever reason. Me and Chloe had built ourselves an obstacle course out of scrap from the junkyard and had set it up there so we could test my new powers. I would begin to brace myself for an imminent disaster that could destroy town. But it didn't come. Either I don't use my powers to excess or the storm was supposed to come naturally. Also, despite me and Chloe still living happily together as we always wanted, I always thought to myself that Chloe's inevitable demise would begin to purge once more. But it never came. Turns out that perhaps I actually let Chloe escape death for good this time. I was only getting ready for someone to pull the trigger incase if it was going to happen again. And if that time ever came, I'd know what to do. No matter how times I've done it before.

The bus approaches the school where there's no Sanctuary. Just students spending their time out in the courtyard before class begins. I get off the bus with the rest of my classmates and walk into to courtyard in front of the school. It was going on 8:30 in the morning. I sat on the fountain with the Jeremiah Blackwell statue centering the courtyard to relax. I can feel the morning breeze cool my body as the morning sun illuminates the peaceful area.

I activate my time vision and everything turns monochrome. I use this ability whenever I want to have a moment of calm and relaxation. To be honest, this is the only ability that never appears to effect my health the way my rewind or freeze does. As long as I take my medication that is.

I look around the vicinity in darkness with my pupils glowing blue and people highlighted in orange. I can hear the voices of students laughing and socializing. I see Courtney and Taylor laughing. I see Justin and Trevor at their usual spot doing tricks with their skateboards. I see Brooke modifying her drone she flies around with often. I see Zachary flirting with Juliet. Just another day at the office for Blackwell. I pretty much eavesdrop on everyone as voices echo through my ears and into my brain Daredevil style.

"Max," a voice calls over next to me as I gasp and return to my normal vision.

"I'm sorry, Max. You alright," asks Warren.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply. "What's up?"

Warren sits next to me on the fountain.

"Well, now that you're here, I was wondering if we can go on a double date together."

"A double date, Warren?"

"Yeah, it'll be me, you, Brooke, and Chloe. We'll all do something together."

"Like what?"

"There doing a Marvel marathon at the drive-in theater tomorrow night. They'll even be showing the new Marvel film 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'. Or we can play some 'Titanfall' on my Xbox One I got for Christmas."

"I never really played an Xbox before, but I think Chloe might be down for the drive-in theater. I'll have to ask Chloe. When do you want to plan on doing that?"

"It's tomorrow night. It'll be just like the Planet of the Apes marathon. Even though none of us got to go to it.

"Alright, Warren. I'll be sure to let Chloe know and I'll text ya if she feels like going."

"Okay then. Sounds good. Hey, by the way, how did your therapy session go?"

"It went well, I guess. All I have to do is remember to take my meds every day and I should be able to keep my symptom or syndrome or whatever it is under control. What's your story?"

"Well, I just got accepted into Metropolitan State University of Denver. Me and Brooke are gonna be studying science there. Have you applied into anything?"

"Believe it or not, I just got accepted to the University of Portland. I'll studying some Photography there. Chloe's gonna try and apply to an online college. Despite her bad rep at Blackwell before her expulsion."

"Speaking of Chloe, her Step-Dad used to be head of security at this school before he resigned. Where is he now?"

"David's working in the Sheriff's department as a deputy. Nowadays, me and Chloe don't see him very often since he's working with the law enforcement now. Her Mom, Joyce, is still running the diner as you maybe have noticed."

"Take care, Max. See you after class."

"You too, Warren."

I walk into the girls dormitory to hang out in my dorm before class. Upon entering, there are no longer Rachel Amber posters on the walls. There are Prescott and O'Donohue election posters on the walls. Sean Prescott and Riley O'Donohue were both running a campaign to be the next Mayor of Arcadia Bay.

I take a look at Prescott's poster with his name underlined with stars saying: **Prescott for Mayor 2014**

 _"For someone who wants to own everything in Arcadia Bay, being Mayor is the way to go,"_ I say to myself. _"If only Nathan could see his Father now."_

Then I take a look at O'Donohue's poster: **O'Donohue for Mayor 2014**

 _"I'm surprised more people are voting for Prescott compared to O'Donohue. After everything the Prescotts have done corrupting this town, somehow their redeeming themselves. It's not like anything Sean Prescott says to convince people to elect him is true. How I hate politicians."_

I then take a look at a poster on the wall for Prom Night at Blackwell that'll be happening sometime next month before the school year ends.

 _"Senior Prom! Chloe should be my date. It'll be the night of our lives."_

I finally walk into my dorm room, set my purse aside, grab my pills off my desk, sit on my bed, and take pill swallowing it hardly to heal my symptom. I take a moment to relax on my bed.

 _"Well, Max, this is it. As long as I have my powers, this is how my life is gonna work. After months of Arcadia Bay spending cold days in hell, it's finally a bit closer to heaven. At least I still have Chloe by my side whenever I need her. My angel with butterfly wings. Meanwhile, the end of time is on it's way. I've spent one-hundred in eighty-two days without an incident, without a tragedy, without answers. I have a feeling I would be the key to making things right again. As I should've done six months ago."_

I dig into my photo box and take a look at some photos me and Chloe took throughout the past six months. I find some pictures of me and Chloe as children. I find the picture of me and Chloe on her tenth birthday. Then the picture of me and Chloe and her cat Bongo she used to have in the house before it died during the same year William had. Then I find my favorite picture of me and Chloe dressed as pirates. I smile.

I then find pics of me and Chloe that we've taken more recently. I find the selfie me and Chloe took in her bedroom six months ago with William's camera. Then I find the selfie we took on Halloween in our costumes. I dressed as Supergirl as Chloe went as Batgirl. Then I find pictures of me and Chloe on Thanksgiving. My parents had invited me and Chloe as well as Joyce and David back to Seattle for Thanksgiving dinner. And then, there were the pictures of me and Chloe on Christmas and New Years. Including the one where we kissed under a mistletoe.

Finally, the pictures of us on Valentine's Day, then our trip to Portland on Spring Break, and finally Easter. The holiday that came early this year. We had gone to Portland not only for Spring Break, but for Chloe's twentieth birthday. I kept smiling.

 _"Wowser, Chloe. It feels like we lived the American dream these past six months. None of this would've occurred if I had let you die in that bathroom just for the good people that died in Arcadia. None."_

I want to shed a tear. And I do. A small one at that. Despite my obsession with the end of time, me and my bluenette had so much ground to pick up with each other. So much to look forward to. And we did. Chloe should thank me for all this. She really should. And she already has. This was our one true destiny to fulfill once in a lifetime. My phone then bleeped from my pocket and I set the pictures aside to answer my text. It was Chloe.

 **Chloe: Hey, Max! Want to hit up 2 Whales later on 4 lunch today?**

 **Max: Sure. Why not. BTW, Warren asked me if we could go double dating tomorrow nite with him and Brooke to the drive-in theater? What do u say?**

 **Chloe: What would we see at the drive-in?**

 **Max: There doing a Marvel marathon at the drive-in. U in?**

 **Chloe: Sure. I guess. I hella love Marvel. SYL**

 **Max: U2**

I walk out of my dorm to check on everyone else. I see Victoria in her dorm surfing through her Facebook on her laptop looking depressed. I walk into her dorm to check on her.

"Hey, Victoria."

"What do you want, Max?"

"I just wanted to say hi is all."

"Same old Max. Nosy little selfie taker as usual."

"You sound pissed today. Why?"

"None of your business."

"It's about Nathan. Isn't it?"

Victoria frowned at me taking offense of what I said. Then she put her hand over her eyes.

"Victoria, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to-"

"Max, just shut up! Alright?! Don't ever bring him up again! Ever! You want to know why I'm upset? It's because some asshole named Mark Jefferson, the man who murdered Nathan, betrays me into letting me win that contest by blackmailing him in doing so!"

"So why are you upset at me than?! That would be your own fault for blackmailing now, would it?! Especially for something you did six months ago!"

"Because you just don't know when to mind your business! And to add insult to injury, we have to lose members of the Vortex Club. Nathan gets shot and killed and Sarah dies in a fucking storm. With Nathan gone, I have to take charge of the club now."

"I know how that feels."

"No, you don't know how that feels! Unless you want to run the Vortex Club. How does that sound? That's what I thought. Now how 'bout you go fuck your selfie and bother someone else. Will you?

"Whatever, Victoria. Nice talking to you. For what it's worth."

I walk out of Victoria's dorm to check on Kate in her dorm. I walk into Kate's dorm, seeing her feed her rabbit, Alice. She turns towards me with a slight grin.

"Hey, Kate."

"Hey, Max. What's up."

"Just checking on ya. How've you been?"

"I've been okay I guess. I overheard you and Victoria arguing. What's wrong with her?"

"Just her typical attitude. As you've said before, she can be sometimes...not nice."

Kate sat on her bed to get back to finishing her illustrations.

"What are you working, Kate?"

"Well I am still working on my book about bullying. I also had plans for writing a book on how to survive a storm."

"Sounds interesting."

I then just think up of something. A question Kate may or may not have the answer to.

"Hey, Kate. I...might have a question for you. Maybe you would know the answer?"

"What is it, Max?"

"There's nothing in the bible about time travel, is there?"

"Time travel? What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe not necessarily time travel, but rather destinies. Does God ever know when people will die? So that he'll have plans for them in heaven or something?"

"The bible never quotes anything about time travel, but it does tend to appoint people's destinies. Why?"

"Are there any examples you could share?"

"I remember reading a quote about God appointing to a time of death. Hebrews 9:27 - 'And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.' I also read one about God foreseeing destiny. Jeremiah 1:5 - 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

"Do you believe that the people that died during the storm was destiny or that the storm hitting the town was fate given by God?"

"I believe what I must, Max. I believe in whatever God gives us all. Though fate isn't always an easy thing to confront, it is more than necessary to accept in the end."

"Like when God put you on the roof of this dormitory six months ago?"

"I think God put you on that roof save me. Because perhaps God didn't have a plan for me in heaven. Not yet."

The school intercom comes on and I hear Principal Wells' voice.

 _"Max Caulfield, please report to the office. Max Caulfield."_

"I better go, Kate. Whatever reason Mr. Wells wants me anyways. Take care."

"You too, Max."

 **Note:**

 **First of all, I'm no Christian, but I had looked up a few quotes from the bible regarding time and prophecy. For anyone who's Christian, let me know if my writing was off. Forgive me if it was. Second, has anyone ever thought the most powerful and richest man in Arcadia Bay like Sean Prescott could run for mayor?**

 **There's chapter two people. Expect a few new characters introduced, including a new major one I've been developing for some time, to be in the next chapter.**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**


	3. Suspected

Chapter 3 Part 1 Suspected

Max

April 11, 2014

8:39 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

I walk into the Principle's office and I find not only Mr. Wells sitting by his desk, but there are other people in the room as well. I pause. My chest feels cold. There was a woman with dark hair in a gray suit wearing a gray blazer and slacks who stood on the right side of the office. Standing next to her was a man in a dark blue suit wearing coat and tie. I assumed they must've been partners or something. Then there was a bald headed man in a black suit also wearing a coat and tie who sat on the left chair in front of Mr. Wells' desk. Who were these people?

Finally, there he stood on the left side of the office. Sean fucking Prescott. The Donald Trump of Arcadia Bay. Now I began to panic. I've haven't seen him face to face since Nathan's funeral. He still had that same typically cynical look on his face. The way Nathan used to describe his persona at times. The right chair in front of the desk was empty. I assumed it was for me.

"Have a seat, Ms. Caulfield," asked Mr. Wells. "We have much to discuss."

I sit down on the chair in front of me. Something told me I was in trouble for something. There was only one way to find. Mr. Wells begins to introduce everybody in the room.

"Ms. Caulfield, this is Karen Carter and Burke Johns from the District Attorney."

I shake hands with both of them.

"The person sitting next to you is Derrick Crosby. CEO of the Chrysalis corporation."

I shake hands with him as well.

"I believe you already know Sean Prescott. Representative of Blackwell and Republican Candidate for this year's mayoral election."

Just when I hold his hand to shake it, he pulls me an inch towards me off my seat menacingly.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do here, missy," he says angrily with his grizzly accent.

"Sean, if you please," demanded Mr. Wells. "Let us handle this discussion!"

He releases me from my grip roughly and I sit back down. Waiting to hear what trouble I'm in.

"Ms. Caulfield," begins Mr. Wells. "Perhaps your wondering by now why we are all here. When the DA, Mr. Crosby, and Mr. Prescott arrived at my office this morning, they began asking questions I never knew the answer to. And so I expected you would know the answers to them instead. Mr. Crosby, may start off with you?"

"Certainly," says Crosby turning to me. "Maxine Caulfield. A pleasure to meet you."

"Its Max Caulfield, actually," I said. "That's how I prefer to be called anyway."

"My apologies." He clears his throat. "Max Caulfield, would the Chrysalis corporation ring a bell?"

"Not really."

"Well, I'm not surprised. For starters, I founded Chrysalis back in 1999 and I've been running the corporation since. What we do is study the myth of the butterfly effect and the possibilities of time travel."

Now we're starting to get somewhere.

"For decades, there have been theories of time travel actually existing. We speculate those theories with references. References from history, the media, and even disasters that have occurred all over the globe. Such as hurricanes, earthquakes, meteor showers, tsunamis and even twisters."

Somehow my heart begins to race. What are they saying? What are they trying to get out of me? Why do I get the feeling they're here for what I think they're here for.

"Ms. Caulfield," Carter begins to speak. "We all believe that natural disasters come from mother nature. The tornado that struck this town six months ago, however, was one of the most devastatingly tragic disasters we've ever witnessed since Hurricane Katrina. So massively devastating, we don't trust it was of natural cause."

I feel my stomach aching and cringing. This woman sounds deadly serious about what she's saying.

"First of all, Oregon only gets tornados every twenty years. But never does it strike the coast line of this state. The area this town stands on. Secondly, we believe this disaster was an act of terrorism. If not supernatural terrorism."

I gulp my throat. Now I've done it. The kind of trouble I've never expected from anyone for the past six months. How does someone like the District Attorney know that storm could've been caused by something supernatural? Why would anyone such as the DA even believe in the supernatural to begin with?

"Ms. Caulfield," Johns begins to speak. "You must understand. Throughout history, people have speculated and theorized that some people have actually interacted with the mythical butterfly effect. AKA time travel. Many have speculated that use of time travel is indeed capable of altering fate and destiny as well as creating alternate realities we've never lived through. People have also speculated that some disasters have been caused by the excessiveness of time powers. You however, are not only here being a suspect of time travel, but also as I regret to mention: a terrorist."

I have been calling myself that since the night I let the town get destroyed. Terrorist. It's as if I joined ISIS or something.

"A time terrorist at that. There has been a crisis of natural disasters as Chrysalis would call it; the 'Quantum Crisis', we believe to be inhabited by excessive acts of time travel. Or as some would prefer the word 'time terrorism'."

"And...what would be the word you would use," I ask nervously.

"Terrorism, unfortunately," he answers. "Mr. Wells?"

Wells hands over a folder to me with a file that has evidence I'm a potential suspect to time traveling. I open the file and see a picture of me, my name, and address on the front page. I even see pictures of me from six months ago. Pictures of me at Blackwell, the junkyard, the diner, everywhere I used my powers. Johns explains how the pictures were taken.

"These were taken by Chrysalis surveillance cams. Spy drones immune to time travel. Those pictures are in comparison of what had been pre-set to occur before and what was changed by the effect of time travel after. We assumed you had been rewinding time in order to interact with time and space."

I kept looking through the pictures until I find pictures of me back in Seattle. Making comparisons as well.

"We even caught a glimpse of you and your friend Chloe Price interacting with time as well. Only this time with new abilities. We believe you had been pausing time and that your powers began to evolve after that storm."

"So you admit it then," I say. "You're saying that storm was my fault. I created it. I destroyed the town with time bending powers you're convicting me of.

"What we're saying Ms. Caulfield," begins Prescott. "Is that the tornado that destroyed my town was caused by a fucking terrorist!"

"Sean, pipe it down!" demanded Wells. "You're not here to frighten one of my students!"

"Don't you tell me why I'm here, Raymond! I own this school and I know exactly why I'm here!"

Nathan was never kidding about his father. He had always spoke of his father being an asshole and owning everyone and everything. I just never imagined coming face to face with Sean's guts. Just when me and Chloe thought David was a dick, Sean was so far making David look like Willy Wonka.

"Ms. Caulfield," begins Sean turning to me. "I just want you to know, my son Nathan was my heir, my protégé, my little boy who was supposed to grow up to be a leader of this town. Grow up to fulfill the family legacy. And now he's dead by the hands of a photography teacher. Whom I always told to stay away from my son. It was bad enough you reporting my son for bringing a gun to school and getting him suspended from Blackwell over a girl he drugged. And now he gets to rest in piece."

"You say it like its my fault. Like there's no one to blame but myself for your son's death."

"I'm not blaming you for my son's death. But as crazy as it sounds, I'm starting to blame you for what happened to this town. All want is the truth. Do not lie to me. I'll know if you're lying. Is it true that you have a secret power to control time so to speak. And if you do, is it true that your power caused what destroyed this town?"

 **X/SQUARE - ACCEPT KNOWLEDGE**

 **B/CIRCLE - DENY KNOWLEDGE**

"Mr. Prescott, to be honest, this is crazy talk. Not crazy that I have powers, but crazy talk that I'm a terrorist. Do you people even realize what you're saying? I can assure everyone I am no such thing and I never caused some supernatural disaster. There goes your answer."

"We won't forget what you said, Ms. Caulfield. None of us in this room will. And if you're lying...we will know. You can count on that."

Then Carter began to speak.

"I don't mean to take matters personally, Ms. Caulfield, but I too have lost someone here in Arcadia Bay."

She pulls out a picture of a girl leaning next to her smiling together. She lets me take the photo to look at.

"Do you know this girl, Max? That was my daughter, Sarah Carter. She once attended here at Blackwell and was member of the Vortex Club that was once run by Nathan Prescott."

Speak of the devil. It was her. The girl I met at the Vortex Club party the night Mark Jefferson shot Chloe at point blank and kidnapped me. And now her Mom's a lawyer.

"The National Guard found my little girl's body thrown out of car the next morning after the storm...and was confirmed dead. Tell me, Ms. Caulfield, if my daughter's death was caused by terrorism, who will avenge that tragedy? Who will bring her death to justice and who is the real person responsible for six-hundred deaths including hers that laid waste to this town?"

The more this woman's affection for her daughter emotionally intensifies, the more I feel like a monster who killed an attorney's daughter. Even now as me and Chloe are still living happily in Arcadia Bay, I feel like I'm paying an even bigger price than before and that I had taken this woman's daughter's life for Chloe's in vain. Crosby began speaking again.

"I think it's about time me and Max have a private conversation somewhere. I think she needs to learn more and I'd like to keep it between me and her for now. I only need a moment of her time, Wells."

"Do what you must, Derrick," replies Wells. "And Max, before you leave...be careful. You've been under the radar for quite some time now and if what our guest say is true, know that we're watching you. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Mr. Wells."

Chapter 3 Part 2 Marksman Amber

Chloe

April 19th, 2013

5:21 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

I ride with Rachel on her motorbike. She carries a backpack on her back with her belongings and drives me to the junkyard via her motorcycle she got for her sweet sixteen. We arrive at the junkyard and Rachel safely parks her bike by the gate.

"Here we are," she says turning off her engine. "The American Rust."

I get off the bike with Rachel and we enter through the front gate.

"So, remind me why we're here again? I thought we were going someplace abandoned?"

"We are, but first, I'm gonna show you my new toy Frank got me with his money."

"Your new toy, Rachel? That Frank got you? Since when does he ever get us toys?"

"You'll see."

We walk down to our little clubhouse we built at the other end of the junkyard. When we're inside, Rachel puts her backpack down to show me what Frank got her.

"Okay, Rachel. What's going on here? I don't want to be here longer than I have to."

"Relax, Chloe. Just chill out and let me get it out."

Rachel held a long wooden case that held something inside and opened it. Revealing to be a hunting rifle with a scope.

"Whoa," I say. "Is that what I think is?"

"Check it out, Chloe," says Rachel holding her new rifle in her hands. She poses with the rifle with her two hands aiming it left and right. "This is my rifle, this is my gun. This is for fighting, this is for fun. Bang."

"Careful with that, Rachel! You can hurt someone with that!"

"Relax, Chloe! It's unloaded! Geez."

"Exactly why are we bringing rifles here anyways?"

"We're gonna shoot some bottles, genius. Frank taught me how to shoot with one of these things and I just want to show off my sniper skills."

"Okay, Ms. Full Metal Jacket, exactly what are you trying to prove here? You know how Step-Douche feels about guns."

"Chloe, all I want to do is to have some fun, okay? Once I show off my first impressions, that's when the real fun begins. Go grab some bottles. We can use them for target practice."

"Fine, as long as Step-Douche doesn't hear about this."

I grab some glass bottles scattered around the junkyard and display them on a wooden board held between two barrels. When I finish displaying the bottles, Rachel grabs some ammunition for her rifle and loads it up.

"All done, Rachel. Ready to lock and load?"

"Already done, Chloe. Now watch and learn."

"Oh, I'm watching and learning alright."

I walk up to Rachel and stand next to her.

"Okay, Chloe. I'm gonna aim for the bottle on the far left and right. How much do you wanna bet for not missing?"

"Hit 'em with your best shot and fire away, Rach. Show me whatcha got."

Rachel aims for the bottle on the left with her scope and not a split second later, she pulls the trigger and the bullet rapidly shatters the glass bottle with perfect accuracy. Rachel aims for the bottle on the right and the same thing occurs. I'm instantly stunned.

"Huh, you like that," asks Rachel butting me on the should with an amusing smile. "Huh, huh?!"

"Damn, Rachel! You just shot those bottles like nothing!"

"I've had a lot of practice. So much practice, I bet I can shoot those last three bottles in under five seconds."

"Shut up, Rachel. You couldn't shoot three bottles at a time for shit."

"You just let my rifle do the talking."

Rachel aims for the last three bottles and the way she shoots this time is nothing compared to last time. When she fires her gun, she not only shoots the bottles down in under five seconds, but like under three seconds. It only takes one second for her bullets to shatter three bottles. I drop my jaw. Now I'm even more stunned than before.

"Shut up, Rachel," she mocks. "You couldn't shoot three bottles at a time for shit."

"Fucking A, Rachel! Where the fuck did you learn to shoot?!"

"Well I didn't learn to shoot from 'Call of Duty; games. That's for sure. I bet you'd like to see more."

"Rachel, so far your making my morning! Shit yeah I'd like to see more!"

"Now your talking, Chloe!"

We high five each other and fist bump.

"I'm gonna go find some more bottles," insisted Rachel. "Here, hold this and reload that for me. There's some more ammo in that box."

"No problemo, sharpshooter," I say. "No problemo."

I reload the gun while Rachel finds some more bottles to shoot. When I finish reloading it, I hold on to it for a bit and I look through the scope and sight out the junkyard. I feel like I want to learn how to shoot one of these things, but it would be insubordination. As my Step-Fuck would say. Rachel seem to know how to shoot well. Maybe I could ask if she could teach me?

"Hey, careful with that," said Rachel coming back with more bottles. "Don't try shooting with that now."

"Sorry, Rachel. You got those bottles?"

"Yeah, and I found a pack of them somewhere here. A crate load of them."

Rachel had carried a small pack of bottles in a small wooden crate and put them down on the ground. She held one glass bottle out of the pack and decided to do even more fancier tricks with her rifle.

"Okay, Chloe. Give me that for a second and hold on to this bottle."

I did what she asked.

"I'm gonna show you one of my fancier tricks I can do with my new toy."

"Oh, boy. What is it that your gonna try doing this time, Rach?"

"What I'm gonna do, Chloe, is shoot that bottle out of the air. But you have to throw that in the air."

"So, you expect me to just throw that bottle in the air so you can just shoot it without missing?"

"Do not question my marksman expertise, Ms. Price. Just throw that bottle in the air as far as you can so I can shoot, okay? On my mark."

I hold on to the bottle with the palm of my hand getting ready to toss it in the air until Rachel tells me to.

"Throw it!"

I toss the bottle ten feet in the air and bang. Rachel's bullet shatters the bottle out of the sky as if she just shot a bird out of the sky.

"Damn, Rachel! Nice shootin' tex!"

"That was too easy, Chloe! Give me a harder one! Try throwing it further this time!"

Rachel steadies her aim as I attempt to throw the next bottle further. This time, I adjust the momentum of my throw with my arm and finally toss it even further in the air. Fifteen feet in the air. Bang. Rachel hits her mark.

"Fucking A, Rachel. I just might envy you. Everyone at Blackwell should see you now. You're a fucking badass bitch at shooting bottles."

"Tell that to Frank Bowers. Our weed dealer and my marksman mentor. How 'bout we shoot one more and we call it day. Eh?"

Same drill as before. Rachel steadies her aim, I adjust my throw, I toss the next bottle even further in the air. Twenty feet in the air. It takes a couple seconds longer for Rachel to make her shot count. I think that she would miss this time. Bang. Bullseye.

"I am Rachel Amber! Future fashion model of LA and queen marksman of Arcadia Bay!"

We laugh out loud and fist bump.

"Oh, Rachel. That was a hella great shot! One in a fucking million!"

"Hey, if you want, I could let you shoot."

"What?"

"Yeah, I could teach you to shoot if you want. Then we can leave for that place. What do ya say?"

 **X/SQUARE - LEARN TO SHOOT**

 **B/CIRCLE - REFUSE TO SHOOT**

"Sorry, Rachel. My Step-Ass wouldn't approve."

"Oh come on, Chloe. Who gives a fuck what your Step-Ass says. Don't be a pussy."

"Hey, why don't we just get the fuck out of here. It's like thirty after. You wanted to take me to this abandoned place, so let's bail."

"Fine."

 **Note:**

 **So I threw in a little flashback scene for you guys to get it over with. If anyone could tell me in the reviews if that Principle Office scene was some decent writing, please do so.**

 **To be honest, it took me some time developing both that scene in the office and the flashback as you may already understand. I had to take a few breaks from writing every other hour and in doing so, I finally got the chance to play some Overwatch. Plus, Red Dead Redemption on my Xbox One via backwards compatibility. Even though I've already beaten it on my Xbox 360 before.**

 **You'll find out what my new character I created, Derrick Crosby has to say to Max in the next Chapter. Until next time, stay tuned!**


	4. Answers

Chapter 4 Answers

Max

April 11th, 2014

8:44 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Me and Crosby have our conversation in my dorm. He sits next to me on my dorm room couch. I wonder what he has to say. Would he say nothing different from what the DA, Mr. Wells, and Mr. Prescott had told me or does he have a different point of view?

"So why do want to keep this private," I ask. "Why keep it between us?"

"Max," he begins. "First and foremost, I just like you to know that I'm here to defend. Not to prosecute. Obviously, you'll have to leave that to the DA."

"Why would someone like you want to defend me?"

"Because I'm a man who's spent fifteen years of his life running Chrysalis just to understand how to defend someone like you. I'm also here to answer all the questions you've probably been asking yourself up until now."

"For a man who's had fifteen of knowledge, I'm all ears if you actually do have the answers."

Crosby got out his briefcase and opened it on his lap. Inside was nothing but bunch of files on time travel. But then, he pulled out an evidence bag that had that one photo. The one photo I was to use on that cliff in order to save the town that I had torn six months ago.

"Would this ring any bells to you," he asked.

I stare at the torn photo of the blue butterfly held inside the evidence bag. I'm instantly shocked to see this photo reappear before my eyes after all these months.

"Where did you get this," I ask. "I...I tore this picture months ago. It blew away during the storm."

"We found that photo just lying on the ground in this town six months ago," answers Crosby. "Its been in evidence lockup since."

"How would this be evidence I'm a time traveler?"

"Max, that butterfly you took the picture of gave you the powers you have now. When you were in that bathroom that day and the butterfly appeared, it chose you to have the powers. Legend has it, the butterfly spirit carries the power of the butterfly effect. AKA time bending. Capable of manifesting that power to anyone with the highest purity."

"The highest purity? What does that even mean?"

"Well, Max, that's a bit more of a complicated question. But before I answer that question, I have something else to show you."

Crosby took out a few papers from his case and showed me more files.

"We've looked through your psychiatric records from your psychiatrist Dr. Thomas and he tells us that you've been experiencing symptoms of bleeding, hallucinations, paranoia, dementia, and nightmares. These are all side effects of yours powers. They're also side effects of Chronon Syndrome."

"Chronon Syndrome?"

"It's a syndrome that infects a time traveler like yourself. The chronon cells that are infecting your body infect your blood stream. The medication your taking, however, helps heal that infection."

"Are these chronon cells the source of my powers or something? And did they all come from this butterfly spirit, as well?"

"The cells in your body are indeed resourceful to your powers as they are infectious. And yes, they sort of did come from the spirit. Chronons are proposed as a quantum of time. Particles that make all time travel itself possible according to quantum chemistry and from what we study at Chrysalis. But that's not all. Dr. Thomas informed us that he had another patient that had the same symptom you have."

"And who might that be?"

"Nathan Prescott."

I remain silent.

"Now before I say anything else, Nathan's father isn't to know I told you. He'd like to keep his records a secret, okay?"

"Okay, but why would someone like Nathan have the same symptom I have?"

"According to his records, he had been telling Dr. Thomas about visions of the storm that hit this town months ago. He had also been telling him he was able to see the future. He would sometimes have dreams about the future. When his Father knew about his source of dementia, that's when he started taking him to Dr. Thomas. Also, when he started taking the same meds you do now."

This was starting to make more sense now why Nathan had mentioned the storm on the phone. The question is did he have powers too?

"So, if he had visions about the future, was he also a time traveler like me, too?"

"Not necessarily. But I say no more. Mr. Prescott will be extremely pissed if I do. Once again, he's not to know I told you. Understood?"

"Yes, sir, I'll be sure he doesn't know."

I remember seeing some of Nathan's prescription medication when I had snuck into his dorm that day. I never knew why he had taken those meds. Even Victoria had always wondered why. I sort of seemed to get some understanding why now that Crosby had told me.

"Now, Max, do mind if ever ask you any personal questions about powers?"

"Like what?"

"Well, why don't we begin with that one week. The week your powers first came to you."

"What about it?"

"Just start from the beginning. Keep it simple."

I struggle to figure out where I should begin for a second or two. I take a deep breath finally knowing where to start.

"Okay, to understand how it all started I'm going to have to take you back six months in the past. On the Monday morning where it all began I had a dream about the storm. In the dream, I was walking up the hill to the lighthouse. When I reached the top, the lighthouse came down towards me and I wake up in class with Mr. Jefferson continuing his lecture. When I got out of class and went to bathroom, that's when it all started. I found the butterfly spirit, took a picture of it with my camera, and then Nathan came barging into the room where he was gonna meet with Chloe. When the two of them came in, Nathan flips out, pulls a gun on Chloe, and accidentally shoots her. Then time rewinds me back to class just to retrace my steps and save Chloe."

"And then what?"

"Then when me, Warren, and Nathan have a fight in the parking lot, that's when me and Chloe first reunite. She takes me back to her house and we dance to some music in her room until her Step-Dad shows up and ruins our fun. Finally, we go to the lighthouse. The place where I had my vision. When we're up there, I have my vision again. This time, I find out the storm is coming to town in four days. When I snap back to reality, that's when I first tell her about my power."

"Anything happen the day after?"

"The day after gets even more exciting. The next day, when Chloe meets me at her Mom's diner, that's when I finally convince her I have powers. We go to the junkyard, shoot bottles with her gun, walk down the railroad, and that's when I had to save her again from an oncoming train that was about to hit Chloe takes me back to school, things get even crazier. I had to save Kate from suicide using my powers and I convince her not to do it. After that, me and Chloe decide to find her missing friend before me. Rachel Amber."

Crosby looks down for a second. As if he were worried about something. Then continues asking away.

"Go on. What did you to find her?"

"We break into Mr. Wells' office to start looking. We find some of Rachel's files. Then find one interesting file about Rachel. It read 'Rachel in the Dark Room, Rachel in the Dark Room'."

Crosby looked at me in concern for some reason. Wasn't sure why, but I kept talking.

"Then we broke into the Girl's swimming pool and had ourselves a swim. Then security shows up and we make a break for it. The following morning we go back to the diner to find more clues. This time I had to break into an RV that belongs to a drug dealer Chloe is associated with named Frank. Then we found out Rachel had been cheating on Chloe with Frank. She gets pissed and feels sorry for herself with everybody in her life letting her down. She laments saying that if she had my power, she would use it to save her father William who passed on years back from a car wreak."

"You wouldn't have actually used your power to do that yourself now, would you?"

"I had actually. But it didn't go according to plan."

"What do you mean?"

"In order to go back to William's last day on Earth, I had to use a photo he took of us when we were younger. I had to stare directly at the photo and I transition back to myself five years younger. In order to save William, I had to make sure he didn't find his car keys. And so I do. Then when I'm back to the present, things are so much different than before. I'm with the Vortex club, Warren's a thing with Stella, David's a bus driver, and then I come back to Chloe's house looking nicer than before. I knock on the door and William's alive and well. However, when I see Chloe again, she comes out in a handicapped state. Apparently, in between the past and present, Chloe got herself into car wreak instead and had to be confined to a wheelchair. Just when I thought I could've made Chloe's life easier, I actually made it worse."

"So what did you and Chloe do in this alternate time stream?"

"Nothing much. I don't think that's too important. What I do think that's important is that she wanted me to put her out of her misery. Make it the last time we se each other. I refused. That's when I figured Chloe was better off the way she was originally then in the state she had been alternatively. So I went back to that day William died and made sure it happened. I jump back to present and everything's back to normal."

"And what happened after you set reality back to the way you originally remembered?"

"We continue our search for Rachel, visit Kate at the hospital, search Nathan's dorm for clues, grab Frank's client list for clues, and then come back to her house solving the puzzle. Chloe deciphers all the clues on her computer and finds a barn that had once belonged to the Prescotts in their early years. And that's where we find the dark room. Also when we find out about Rachel's fate. About her death that is."

"What happened after that?"

"I get kidnapped by Jefferson. Who was the one who killed Rachel and started the kidnappings for the dark room. David saves me. Then when the storm hit, that's when it all came down to me. That's when I realized what the storm had been about that whole time. It was the price I had to pay for being so defiant in destiny. More defiant in Chloe's destiny that is."

I hold my breath. I hold a tear. Then I spit out the last thing I have to say.

"Chloe even realized it herself. She thought to herself that I had been surpassing her true destiny once too many times, it had been destroying the town that whole time. She even offered me a chance to make things right again. By going back to the day she was supposed to die just to bring balance everything. I rejected that offer. I took matters with my powers too personally, it destroyed the town. God, I...I can say no more."

Crosby lay his hand on my shoulder as I let out a small tear.

"Hey, I know it's difficult. I understand your actions that week was a nasty pill to swallow. Now look at me."

Crosby holds my head by the chin to help me make eye contact.

"I won't ask you anything else that's personal, but I have more to tell you. Are you listening?"

I nod and wipe my tear.

"About your purity, I should probably tell you that now. According to the legend, the person chosen to have the power of the butterfly effect is the one with the purest vibes."

"Purest vibes?"

"That's right. You of many people contain a high purity of vibes. Meaning you share the greatest emotional atmosphere towards others. That's why it chose you. That's why you were given this power. That's how it's earned. The joy, the harmony, the nobility that turns people pure."

"Am I one of those people with that kind of purity?"

"Let's say that you are. Now, Max, when there are people with pure vibes, there are also people with damaged vibes."

"Damaged vibes?"

"Let me finish, Ms. Caulfield. People who live in a life of crime or fight in wars tend to have damaged vibes. In crime, people do drugs, rob people, beat people, kill people, etc. In war, people kill one another just to fight for their lives. Time itself always tends to kill people with damaged vibes. That's how people are given damaged vibes. That's how it starts. The fever, the rage, the powerlessness, that makes people damaged."

"I don't understand."

"Your friend Chloe for example, is a person who's damaged. It was never destiny you fought with your power. It was retribution. The retribution for people with damaged vibes is death. The more damaged vibes are worsened, the heavier the retribution. And if time finds the right people with fully damaged vibes, it will always make attempts to give those people death."

"So, wait. You're telling me Chloe had been dying that whole time because of her vibes?! Do you even know what you're saying?! First you tell me I'm a terrorist, then you tell me how pure I am and how I have a syndrome that deals with chronons, now you're telling me my girlfriend's damaged?!"

"Max, stop! Okay? I'm sorry if I ever insulted you or your girlfriend. I'm only giving you all the answers the your dilemma. No matter how ludicrous it may sound, it's true. What I'm telling you is that time itself always tends to kill off people with damaged vibes. There are people with a mix of pure and damaged vibes. Only because either people are corrupting or redeeming themselves. The more people corrupt, the more they're damaged. The more people redeem, the more they're purified. When I read Chloe's file, her vibe status said it all."

"You people have been looking into files of Chloe, too? Why?"

"That's classified."

Crosby took out a file of Chloe from his briefcase and read the file.

"Father dies in car accident. Mother marries Step-Father a year later. Complaints of child abuse from Step-Father. Runs away from home and is saved from suicide attempt. Five arrest with no felonies. Convicted of drug addiction and vandalism. Expelled from High School at the age of seventeen."

He stops reading.

"Unless there's one redeeming factor about your girlfriend, she has a better chance of living."

"So let me get this straight. I was given powers because of my high purity of vibes. Chloe, however had too many damaged vibes to live. And unless if people living on this planet have pure enough vibes, they can live a longer lifespan?"

"It may not make sense to you, but it does to me in my experience. I only want you to acknowledge just so you have answers. Sometimes there are people with bad vibes who can actually effect people with purer vibes. For example, if there's a drunk driver who causes an accident, he could end up killing himself or another person with whatever vibes they have. Or if a someone commits an act of homicide, the murderer would be the person with bad vibes and the victim could have pure or damaged vibes. And sometimes, people just die by mistake. No matter what vibes they obtain."

Nathan Prescott was a boy who pulled a gun on Chloe, overdosed Rachel, and drugged Kate. Bad vibes. Death by Jefferson. Frank Bowers is man who had threatened to cut Chloe, got in bed with Rachel, and became a low-life drug dealer for a living. Bad vibes. Death by Chloe. If I hadn't rewound just so he'd be shot in the kneecap that is. All this time from Chloe getting a bullet to the belly to a bullet to the forehead was all because of her vibes.

David Madsen was a man who fought in the war in Afghanistan and I bet he had to kill so many people in doing. Giving him damaged vibes. Kate Marsh had attempted suicide being fed up with bullying. Bad vibes effecting her good vibes perhaps? As for William, he only died getting hit by a rig, accidentally. Would his death have been an example of dying by mistake perhaps?

"To be honest, Mr. Crosby, my friend has been trying her hardest to be a better person these past months. Guess I don't have to worry about her dying on me now. If that's what you're saying."

"Before I let you go Ms. Caulfield, I just want to warn you. Be careful. Like Mr. Wells had told, you've under the radar for quite some time now and we don't want you doing anything at all that considers you a terrorist and if need to use your powers, use them wisely. And I mean wisely. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir. You have my word."

"Good. Here's my card if you need me."

Crosby lends me his card with his contact information.

"It's been a pleasure talking to you, Max. I must say good day to you. You have a nice day at school."

Crosby leaves my dorm. I take a look at his contact info as soon as he walk out.

 **CHRYSALIS**

 **THERE AND BACK AGAIN**

 **3951 Chrysalis Plaza**

 **Portland, Oregon**

 **DERRICK CROSBY**

 **CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER**

 **Desk: 520-209-2672**

 **Office: 520-798-2462**

 **Fax: 520-798-2462**

 **Email: dcrosby**

 **Note:**

 **I won't lie to you people. It took a me a lot of time developing this twist about the pure and damaged. There are many theories regarding the origins of Max's powers that speculate the butterfly in the restroom gave her the power the moment she took the photo.**

 **We all know that Max had struggled running away from Chloe's preordained fate. In this fic, why don't I just put a little icing on the cake by saying Max had not been fighting destiny. She was fighting retribution. Let's just say that the retribution for Max's powers fighting Chloe's retribution was the storm. Now since Chloe had spent six months of her life trying to be a better person, it earned her a reprieve.**

 **There are some people in this universe that may not be damaged as others, however. Therefore, death may not come so quickly compared to even more damaged people. Since Max now has the gift of being fully pure, she can live the longest. If her powers don't kill her that is.**

 **That's the best I can explain myself for. Until next time, stay tuned!**


	5. Explain

Chapter 5 Explanation

Max

April 11th, 2014

11:56 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

The bus drops me off at the diner where I was to meet Chloe for lunch. I ask myself, what happens when the love of your life means more to you than the whole town? Six-hundred people die including an attorney's daughter, me and my bluenette angel attempt to live normal lives, and finally the District Attorney, Chrysalis, and the most powerful and richest man in town call you a terrorist.

The real question is, how am I going to explain to Chloe about the time space continuum having a purity struggle? How would she react? She would think it's dumb, but I believe me and Chloe would be on the same page. Stupidity can easily be won over truth.

Before I enter Joyce's diner, I see Frank the low-life slouched down by his RV with a bottle in his hand. He looks passed out. He must be drunk or something.

I approach me him slowly. Frank isn't man you'd want to fuck with easily. Otherwise, its a switchblade up the ass. Bitch don't kill his vibe. But time can. I shake my foot against his body. Nothing happens. I try kicking him softly. Still nothing. Then I kick him hardly and finally I startle him and he wakes up moaning.

"Oh...uh...wha...who's there," he starts talking with a drunken voice. "Where are my beans?"

"Its me, Frank, Max. Chloe's girlfriend."

"Oh...its you. The lesbian hippy. The fuck you want?"

"What are you doing here getting drunk in the middle of the parking lot? That's...the fuck I want. Joyce doesn't like drunken people at her diner, you know."

"Joyce can lick my ass."

"Frank!"

"Just leave me be, Max. Go make out with your punk-ass girlfriend or something."

I didn't care why Frank was getting drunk. I harassed him enough. He sort of reminded me of Haymitch from the Hunger Games. Frank appeared to have a bigger drug problem than Chloe had.

I walk into the diner where I see Joyce at the front counter serving coffee to customers up front. The two people sitting on the desk was a police officer from the ABPD and the truck driver that would often stop by.

I see my partner in crime sitting down on one of the tables waiting for her partner in time. I'm still nervous about how I'm going to explain everything to Chloe. I take a deep breath walking up to her table as she catches glimpse of me approaching and sitting down.

"Well if it isn't Max the hippy doe," she said. "You're just in time."

"I'm always in time, Chloe," I said. "Get it? In time?"

Chloe chuckles and I smile about the joke I made.

"I saw Frank getting drunk outside. What's the matter with him?"

"Pay no attention to that low-life scum. He only gets drunk whenever he wants to feel sorry for himself."

Joyce approaches our table to take our order.

"Perfect timing, Max," she said. "I was just about to take Chloe's order when you just walked in."

"You know me Joyce," I said. "I always have great timing for Chloe."

"So, what can I get you girls? The usual?"

"The usual as usual, Mom," said Chloe.

Joyce writes down our orders on her notepad and walks away to the back of the diner.

"So, Max, I was thinking. After lunch, we go back to the junkyard for another exercise with powers? What do ya say? Max?"

I don't answer. I look down at the table with a frown hoping she'll be able to take my explanation well.

"Hey, Max, look at me. What's the matter now? Another nightmare about shadows and frozen forests again or did you happen to figure out about this end of time thing or whatever."

"Chloe, listen to me. You may not like what I'm about to say, but it's too important to keep a secret."

"When have we ever kept secrets from each other? Go on and just say it."

"This morning I got sent to the office and got a visit from the District Attorney, this Chief Executive Officer of this Chrysalis corporation, and Sean fucking P. The Trump of Arcadia Bay."

"District Attorney? Chief Executive Officer of what corporation? Sean Prickscott? What did they want from you?"

"Chloe, there are people out there that know about my powers. People that have known about my powers' existence from the very beginning. Somehow they know what I've done. What I did to this town. They know I was the reason behind the storm."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. I'm sorry. I'm lost now. They know about what?"

"Listen to me Chloe. First of all, Chrysalis is this corporation that studies time and space. Second, the head of Chrysalis told me that there's a history behind people like me. People that were able to rewind and bend time just like me. I was never the only with the power."

"So, wait, you're saying that there were other people like you that had your power, too?"

"There's that, and the fact that I'm being convicted of terrorism. Time terrorism."

"Okay, Max. This is crazy talk. You? Terrorism? Really? Why would someone like the District Attorney and Prickscott convict you of such a thing?"

"Look, Chloe, they know that storm didn't come naturally. They know that storm was because of me. That's why I'm being convicted of terrorism. Now they want me to step down and not use powers that tamper with time."

"Okay...well...how hard can it be? Just don't use your powers. That simple."

"Chloe, do you even know what they could even do to me if they caught me with my powers again? They could have me prosecuted, jailed, hell even executed or something. This isn't like getting busted for drugs or vandalism like you have. We're talking terrorism and what happens to people who are busted for terrorism?"

"Obviously, worser things can happen for people accused for terrorism."

"Exactly. This lady from the DA had a daughter who died because I let you live. I'm being targeted by Chrysalis for terrorism. Prescott will do anything to bring Justice to the six-hundred deaths I caused. Six fucking hundred."

"Max, calm down. Okay? As far as I understand, you're being watched and you have to be careful. Otherwise, this - DA, Prescott, and everyone else will have you busted and prosecuted for time abuse or whatever. Until now, I have always had your back and have always held your hand. All we have to do is just keep the use of your powers to a minimum and maybe nothing will go wrong."

Joyce drops in and puts our food on the table.

"Here you go. Two burgers with a side fries and two pepsis."

"Thanks, Joyce."

"Thanks, Mom."

"You girls okay," asked Joyce. "Sounds like the two of you are talking about something serious."

"We're fine, Mom," said Chloe. "As usual, its between us. We're cool."

"You girls enjoy."

Joyce left our table and we enjoyed our meals for a bit. Then we continue our conversation. I begin think what would've happened or what should've happened if I had done otherwise from the ultimate choice I made six months ago.

"Chloe, if I had known this would happen, I...I would've...I would've..."

"Max, I know what you're about to say and you don't have to. As long as we're together, we'll always look out for each other and protect each other."

"I have more to explain, Chloe, and it's nothing compared to what've just explained. So please, this is going to sound weird, but you have to understand."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"This man named Crosby, the head of Chrysalis, explained to me how and why I was given these powers. Remember that theory we had about that butterfly giving me the powers?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Guess what, it really did. From what Crosby told me, he said the butterfly spirit is capable of transferring anyone with the power of the butterfly effect. But it doesn't just give anyone the power. You have to be chosen."

"How are you chosen?"

I take a deep breath. Getting ready to spit this out.

"Chloe, I was chosen this power because of my highest purity of vibes."

"Highest purity of vibes, Max?"

"Look, I know this sounds weird, but it's the kind of personality and emotional atmosphere I have for myself that grants me the highest purity of vibes. But that's not all. Would like to know why you kept dying around me that week?"

"Why would I want to know that?"

"It was never destiny I delayed you with. It was retribution. Your retribution. According to Crosby, the time space continuum makes judgment for the pure and the damaged. You for example are a person who's damaged. Or at least a person that was damaged."

"Damaged? What does that even mean?"

"Damaged vibes I mean. People who often live in a life of crime or fight in wars tend to have damaged vibes. The kind of people who make bad choices in life would be the ones that would be damaged. When time and space discovers anyone with damaged enough vibes, that's when it decides to configure ways to kill them off."

"So...let me get this straight. I know for one that I'm a person who's made bad choices in life, but has managed to make changes in her life. Now you're telling me time only tried to kill me as an act of retribution because I'm damaged?"

"Chloe, not everyone is as pure or damaged as others. In fact, your vibes are probably healing now that you've changed."

"Healing? What do you mean healing?"

"I mean that when people decide to make changes in their lives and redeem themselves from their bad choices, that's how their healed. The more their healed, the more time can grant them a reprieve. Seeing how you've spent the last six months proving yourself to David and Joyce, we can assume you've healed yourself enough in order to earn your reprieve. That's the only reason why you're still alive."

The television screen set on the corner of the diner and above the jukebox lit up with breaking news.

 _"Good afternoon, I'm Brock Kent here with breaking news. Today's story continues with the Prescott and O'Donohue campaign."_

Everyone in the diner stares at the screen to hear the news. Including the two of us.

 _"Today marks the six-month anniversary of the incident that costs the lives of six-hundred good people of Arcadia Bay. In regards of the mass tragedy, Prescott and O'Donohue compete to give the good people of this town the future they deserve. We now go to May Valhalla at the Arcadia Bay Mayoral election press conference in City Hall."_

The TV screen cuts to the reporting journalist located in city hall.

 _"Thanks, Brock. This May Valhalla reporting at City Hall. Months after the tragic shooting of Nathan Prescott, the father Sean Prescott continues his family's legacy running to be our future Republican leader for Arcadia Bay setting up the future site of Pan Estates."_

Why would anyone want to vote for Sean Prescum over an estate that has done nothing but run people out of their jobs. And now politics are taking control over the Pan Estates project. The screen cuts over to Prescott.

 _"The Day my son died was darkest day of my family's life,"_ Prescott began speaking behind his stand with a bunch of microphones. Cameras were flashing in front of him during the conference as journalist crowded the area. _"But the Prescott legacy will live on as I stand up for the future of this town. The future we the people of Arcadia Bay deserve as we all know is Pan Estates. We build ourselves a district for the rich in this town, we will have ourselves the wealthiest people in this town who could be capable of helping families and careers to kick things up a notch. You may all think this project is only destroying people's careers, but you will soon think otherwise the day this project sees the light of day. Even if we have to build a wall in this town dividing the rich district."_

The truck driver sitting by the counter ranted about what he heard.

"The more I keep hearing this Prescott gutter trash, the more I just want to skip town."

"You and me both," said the Police officer sitting next to him.

The TV cut itself back to the news reporter, May Valhalla.

 _"Despite public opinion ranting and raving all over social media with mixed reactions about the Prescott agenda, there are some who would rather stay true to the initiation of Pan Estates. Meanwhile, Riley O'Donohue, our future Democratic leader for Arcadia Bay has other plans with a more redeeming factor for the future of this town."_

The TV screen cut to O'Donohue's conference.

 _"There are many in this town who demand action against Pan Estates,"_ O'Donohue began speaking at his conference. _"I look at a guy like Prescott and see a man who desires nothing but money and power. There are many things in this town money cannot buy. Especially power. Therefore, what do we need a rich district like Pan Estates for? We know it's corrupting our lives. We know it's ran people out of their careers. We know that it has increased out tax revenues severely. And know this project is unnecessary. I invite every good citizen of Arcadia Bay to lay down the greed and corruption that makes a person like Prescott try and own everything in this town, so we may bring about fair tax, steady careers, and even free college education for High School students that attend Blackwell academy. Not to mention handicap funds for the handicapped who can't apply for college. That my friends is what this town needs the most."_

The screen cut back to Brock Kent the news anchor.

 _"We will have more on this campaign as it progresses. This is Brock Kent. Arcadia Bay local news."_

"Did I ever tell you, Chloe, how much I hate politicians?"

"Especially when one politician is the Father of a psychic prick who murdered Rachel and was the lapdog of another psychic prick who murdered Rachel."

"I couldn't agree more."

"I'm getting bored talking about politics and this Chrysalis and DA thing you have going on. Wanna walk down by the beach when we're done eating?"

"Sure, why not? Maybe we can talk more there. I gotta use the restroom if you don't mind."

"Don't mind if you do, Maxiroo. A time master's gotta do what a time master's gotta do."

I walk into the bathroom, take a piss, wash my face, and look in the mirror for a brief moment. I see another nose bleed in my reflection. Then ringing in my ears. I feel my head as if it were dynamite about the explode. And then my reflection flashes translucently in the form of the shadow figure and I hear it's voice.

"Max..."

My vision transitions me to a visual of the worm hole on top of the Chrysalis building just like my visions of the storm did. I snap back to reality and grip myself against the sink breathing heavily and hyperventilating. I catch my breath as hard as I can until I'm fully calm. I stare down at the sink and look back at my reflection. My nose still bleeds...and the end of time is still coming.

 **Note:**

 **So what did you think of those televised press conferences I wrote for this fictional campaign I have for this story? Did anyone try and compare the two agendas Prescott and O'Donohue had in mind to Trump and Sanders'? Let me know in the reviews.**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**

 **P.S. BTW folks, that one line of dialogue from Crosby in the last chapter where he speaks of fever, rage, and powerlessness was all inspired by a line of dialogue spoken by Alfred Pennyworth in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.**


	6. The American Dream Come True

**Note:**

 **BTW folks, expect a major surprise at the end of the second part of this chapter. Like it or hate it, you'll all be in for the real surprise for this episode. You just might be even more hyped about this fic the second the surprise is revealed!**

Chapter 6 Part 1 Couple on a Merry-Go-Round

Chloe

April 19th, 2013

5:40 AM

5 Miles from Arcadia Bay

Me and Rachel ride on her motorbike to where she was taking me as I sit behind her while she was driving. We drive a few miles away from town in order to get to where she was taking me. The two of us stop in front of a gate to an empty parking lot that's locked tight with chains. Rachel parks the bike and turns off her engine. We got off the bike and approach the chained gate.

"Here we are," said Rachel. "We have reached our destination."

"And it appears to be locked up tight," I said. "How do you suppose we get inside?"

"Easy. We climb over the fence, off course. Better yet, I found ourselves a little secret passage way to get inside. Follow me."

Rachel and I were adventurous people at heart and it was like we could actually run away to LA at this very moment. I follow Rachel down to the far left side of the fence and she opens up a loose part of the chain-linked fence revealing a way through.

"Ladies first," she says. "And by ladies, I mean you first."

I role my eyes and crawl through the loose fence. Then I help her get through by holding onto the fence myself.

"So where the hell are we," I ask. "You said you'd be taking me someplace that's fun."

"And I am," she replies. "Just be patient. It's right down this parking lot."

We walk across the empty parking lot and into an isle where people would enter. When we've finally entered the place, it appeared to be some kind of fair grounds. It was an abandoned carnival. I'm expressed with amazement.

"Chloe Price, I give you the Arcadia Bay Carnival of a lifetime."

"Holy shit, Rachel. I thought the fair no longer came to Arcadia."

"It doesn't. When I came across this place after seeing Frank, I thought you might like here. Better yet, you might like it better with the lights on."

"The lights on?"

"Hell, yeah. There's circuit breakers nearby we can use. Come on."

Upon entering the fair, there were tents built from side to side that would be used for Carnival games. There were also lights stringed above the place but would need power in order for them to be lit. I also see a big fairest wheel and a carousel. Me and Rachel walk into a small building with power supply where the breakers would be. When we enter, its darker in the building than it is outside.

"I hope you brought a flashlight with you, Rachel. It's dark as hell in here."

"Even a power building itself could always use some power. If you know what I mean"

Rachel turns on her flashlight on her phone to light the way. I do the same with my phone.

"Look for a switch or something to get the power on," said Rachel.

"As you wish, Einstein," I said.

Me and Rachel scan the perimeter with our flashlight on. I look on one side to find the power switch, Rachel looks on the other. I search for something that would look like a big switch that would turn the whole power on, but all I see with my light on is nothing but 'High Voltage' and 'Danger' signs.

"Did you find the switch yet, Rachel," I ask.

"If I did, the lights would come on now would they," she replies.

"Smart ass."

All of a sudden, my flashlight shines onto something that looks a big switch with a sign that says 'Emergency Power Breaker'.

"Hey, Rachel."

"What?"

"I think I found it."

I flip the switch shifting it upward and just like that, sweet music. The lights in the room come on. Won't be needing our flashlights anymore.

"Booyah, Rachel. The power is on."

"Great job, Chloe. Now we get the full carnival experience. Let's get back out there."

We walk out the power shelter and what we see is no more but bright lights hanging in the air and the fairest wheel illuminating like a Christmas tree. My mouth opens with delightfulness and Rachel smiles with thoughtfulness.

"Wow," is all I could say.

"What did I tell ya, Chloe. I told ya you'd like it."

"This is hella amazeballs, Rachel. How did you find this place?"

"How 'bout we go ride on that carousel? Shall we?"

"Hella, yeah. Let's do it."

We make way for the carousel and find a control circuit to start the ride.

"Okay, I'll try finding a way to get her started and you go hop onto one of those horses."

"I'll be ready when you are, Rach."

I hop onto a unicorn on a pole. Getting ready to go round and round and up and down. I'm sitting tight waiting for Rachel to get the carousel started. It takes her a second or two to figure it out.

"Hurry it up, slow poke," I said impatiently. "While we're young."

"I have an ambition for fashion modeling. Not for engineering," she replies.

"And for marksmanship," I said back.

At last, the carousel slowly starts turning as the horses start moving upward and downward.

"There we go," she said. "Now that's more like it."

"Come on! Hop on!"

Rachel quickly climbs aboard and hops onto a Zebra next to my Unicorn. We hold hands, laugh, and smile going round and round.

"Isn't this fun, Chloe? To two of us riding around and around and up and down?"

"Shit fucking A right it is! Just look at us. We're a couple riding along."

Rachel laughed. We hold hands together high up in the air like Katniss and Peeta in 'The Hunger Games' and I woo.

"Look at us," said Rachel. "We're a couple on a Merry-Go-Round!"

"I know, right," I said. "It feels like I haven't ridden anything like this in forever!"

This moment took me back to the days when my Dad was still living on planet Earth and when he would take me and Max on rides like this before she moved to Seattle. Then suddenly, the carousel comes to an abrupt stop and eventually stops turning.

"Ah, what," I whine. "Its over? Already?"

"Oh, come on," Rachel whined "We just got on. Phooey."

We both let down long faces just when our ride comes to a complete holt.

"Sigh," I whine.

"Hey! I think I got ourselves a little entertainment for us," said Rachel.

"What?! What is it?!" I asked getting hyped.

"Trust me. You'll like it," she says.

She pulls out a little booklet from her backpack, clears her throat, and reads the book.

"What did the triangle say to circle?"

I gasp.

"What is that?"

"Your so pointless."

"Shut the fuck up! You got yourself another pun book?!

"What did the cannibal get when he showed up to the party late?"

"Ummm..."

"A cold shoulder!"

We laugh out loud.

"Here," said Rachel handing me over the booklet. "Its for you."

I take the booklet from her hand as just when we get off the ride.

"You know, you just might be the girl of my dreams again," I said. "Just saying"

"I know my girl," she said. "Just saying."

Chapter 6 Part 2 The Shoreline

Max

April 11th, 2014

12:31 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Chloe drives me to the beachside of town and parks her truck on the small lot. The two of us were unsure what to think for ourselves. With Prescott and the DA breathing behind my neck, I knew I could be in a lot of trouble for taking control of time. I'd hate for Chloe to be brought into it, but there was no choice.

"I still don't believe in any of this pure and damaged nonsense," said Chloe turning off her engine.

"Neither do I," I said. "At least I have Crosby by my side, though. He may be the right person to defend me from people like Prescott and the DA."

"Remind why Crosby would be the right person to defend you. It sounds to me that Chrysalis is some kind of corporation that would hunt down time travelers like yourself and take 'em down."

"Like he said, Chloe, he's a person with fifteen years of life experience to understand a person like me whenever I'm in trouble. I just hope things don't get any worse than it already has."

We get out of the truck and walk down the sandy shoreline of town. For all I knew, I was probably still being under Chrysalis's radar and could still be watching my every move. I just needed to be cautious of my actions and make sure I'm not easily exposed with powers.

"Chloe, as much as I don't like saying it, what if its true. What if I actually let you die that day? What if I never spared you by killing everyone? Perhaps they would have no reason to come after me. No reason to-"

"Max, stop it, okay? Look at me. I'm not only alive because of the choice you made. I'm alive to help you live through the choice you made. You can't let this thing with Chrysalis get to you."

"Chloe, I could've sacrificed you for nothing. That's right, nothing. You can't fight destiny. You can't fight retribution either unless you prevent it. Otherwise retribution will be a person's destiny even though it's preventable. There are people in this world that could easily die in vain. The storm that struck this town was my retribution for fighting retribution. I destroyed a town for you just to get a second chance at redemption. It's like the six-hundred people that once lived in town died for you. Including that girl from the Vortex Club who was that lady from the DA's daughter. I feel just as much of a victim of tragedy like everyone else. Including yourself."

"Max, I get it, alright? You never surpassed my destiny. You surpassed my retribution and gave me a second chance to take on the world. Your pure. I'm damaged. It all fits to your powers and what we did the week you were given them. So perhaps that choice I offered you wasn't worth my life. And now I'm...I'm..."

"Healed."

"And now I'm healed. To Prescott and the DA your a terrorist. To Crosby and Chrysalis your a vigilante. To me, your my hero. My everyday hero and your amazing."

"Maybe you're right. So what if I'm some time vigilante on the run making everyone's life full of 'what ifs' as opposed to 'oh wells'. Until now, I've dedicated my power to our lives that effect everyone else's. But that still doesn't disguise the fact that I'm some Chrysalis fugitive wanted for terrorism."

"Max, the fact that I'm living because of you, I would do anything to return the favor. You know I would."

"And how would you do that?"

"I don't know. But whatever it takes, you know you can count on me."

"I'm still worried about this end of time thing. If my visions of the storm came true, its more than likely my new visions will."

"Six months, hipster, and you still don't have the answers."

"I think we've been too busy spending the last six months living the American dream come true than doing that."

"You mean our American dream come true. Dressing up as DC on Halloween, your parents inviting us for Thanksgiving, kissing under a mistletoe on Christmas, going to Portland for my twentieth birthday..."

"The American dream come true," we say together. We laughed.

"Only because-" Chloe pauses. Feeling that her sentence was unnecessary. But she continued anyway. "Only because you felt those deaths you caused for this town was necessary. The lesser said, the better."

"You still up for the Marvel marathon tomorrow night," I ask.

"Hella, yeah. I'm always up for Marvel. Even when I have to stick with DC."

"Just let me text Warren for a sec and let him know."

 **Max: Chloe will be down for the Marvel marathon tom!**

 **Warren: Thx. We'll c u there!**

 **Max: U2!**

"You know, Max, say if we were in a movie or whatever about time travel with your power. What would it be?"

"Well it can't be 'Back to the Future' or 'Doctor Who'. Because they use technology for time travel."

"What about 'Bill & Ted' with Keanu Reeves or 'Time Cop' with Jean-Claude Van Damme?"

"Same. Technology. I vote Butterfly Effect."

"There's a movie called Butterfly Effect?"

"It's an old movie with Ashton Kutcher from 'That 70's Show'.

"Oh yeah. I used to love 'That 70's Show'."

"Who doesn't?"

"Hey, Max."

"What?"

"I'll race you to the other side."

"Excuse me?"

"On your mark, get set, go!"

"Fuck you! You cheated!"

Chloe runs a head start in front of me and I immediately start running after her. We jog across the shoreline of town like Rocky and Apollo in Rocky III. I start to keep up with Chloe and we jog beside each other. We run past a flock of seagulls that scatter off and fly away in the air when we run past them.

"What's the matter Mad Max," asks Chloe as we continue racing each other. "Are you no road warrior?! Can't run as fast as roadrunner?!"

"You cant run for shit, Wiley Coyote! Meep! Meep!"

We laugh and continue running through the beach. Suddenly, my powers accidentally activate. I accidentally activate my time rush. Everything is in slow-mo and I start running as fast as the Flash. I panic knowing I have to slow down. I'm now almost twenty feet away from Chloe.

 _"Shit!"_ I say.

I come to a complete stop deactivating my time rush and the momentum almost breaks my balance. I manage to keep myself steady, however. I put my hands on my knees and catch my breath.

"Max!" Chloe calls out from a distance. I turn around seeing Chloe run after me.

"Max, are you okay?!"

Chloe makes her way next to me and stops running as soon as I catch my breath. She makes me look at her face.

"Max, what the fuck was that?! What were you thing?!"

"Chloe, I'm sorry, okay?! It was an accident!"

"Don't ever do that again, okay?"

"I'm sorry, Chloe. I accidentally activated my rush when I caught up with you. I'm sorry."

"Just be more careful next time, okay? You know you don't want to get busted for this."

Chloe gives me a hug. When we're done hugging it out, I have more to say.

"Chloe, there's something else I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Crosby had told me that I'm infected with a disorder called Chronon Syndrome."

"Chronon Syndrome?"

"There are particles inside my body called chronons which are the source to my powers. From what he explained, a chronon scientifically speaking is proposed as a quantum of time. Something that makes every action in time have a reaction in time or something. The chronons in my body are killing me unless I take my meds to suppress them. All the more reason I get nosebleeds and dementia."

I sigh.

"For fuck sake, Chloe. I'm not sure why I have to explain this. I feel like Doc Brown or Data from Star Trek trying to explain this."

"Then don't explain it to me, Max. I think you've explained plenty. Some time research corporation is targeting you as some time vigilante and you've got to lay low. That rush thing that you did is probably not the best way to do so."

"Why don't we just go home to your place or something? Maybe we can do something there that will keep me from activating my powers."

Chloe's phone bleeped with a text message from her Mother. She picked it up out of her pocket to read it.

"Huh, my Mom just text me," she said. "She says she got done with her shift early and I have a visitor at home."

"A visitor? Who could that be?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to go over there and find out. Let's go."

April 11th, 2014

1:17 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

We drive back to Chloe's house and park the truck in the driveway. When we get out of the truck, Chloe stares at something that's parked on the curb sturnly.

"What is it Chloe?"

"The bike parked on the curb. Almost looks like Rachel's bike."

"Maybe your visitor rides the same bike Rachel did."

"I don't know. Let's get inside."

We walk through the front door.

"Mom, we're home," said Chloe calling out for Joyce. "Mom?"

Then Joyce appeared from the kitchen and saw us coming in.

"Oh, there you are," she said. "You two are here earlier than I expected."

"You said I had a visitor, Mom. Whom am I expecting?"

Joyce turned her head around nervously and turned her head back with a worried look.

"Is there something wrong, Mom," asked Chloe. "What's the matter?"

"Chloe, you may not be too happy to see your visitor. I don't blame you if your not. Just be aware. Max, help Chloe out if you have to. Okay?"

"Okay," I reply.

"Your visitor is waiting in the backyard."

"Alright, Mom. Thanks," replies Chloe.

The moment we walked out into the backyard became a moment of silence. We stand there like statues. We become completely stunned about who we see. The second she turns to face us, was the second our faces were in shock. Our blood veins run cold. Either we were hallucinating, or we actually see a blond girl dressed in a red shirt and torn pants wearing a blue feathered ear ring.

"Long time no see," said Rachel.

 **Note:**

 **Oh damn! Now I've done it! Ha ha ha! Surprised aren't you?! Now before you start scratching your heads or getting hyped about this shocking surprise, all will be explained in the next chapter. I've been waiting to write this for a long time now. Trust me. I know what I'm doing.**

 **So far, the flash back scenes are all being inspired by The Last of Us Left Behind DLC. As well as some dialogue taken from it. They'll be another flashback scene at the beginning of the next chapter before explaining how Rachel has returned alive and well.**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**

 **P.S. About Max's new powers, Chloe got to know them throughout the months of her being together with Max and testing the powers out. That is all.**


	7. The Prodigal Daughter Returns

Chapter 7 Part 1 Carnival Spook-tacular

Chloe

April 19th, 2013

5:55 AM

5 miles from Arcadia Bay

"I heard two peanuts walked into a park," I say reading the pun book out loud. "One was as-salted."

Me and Rachel let out laughing wails.

"Good one," I say laughing.

"That was a good one," said Rachel.

"A boiled egg in the morning is really hard to beat."

"That's funny," Rachel chuckled.

"That is funny," I said.

"I like that one."

"I'm reading a book on anti-gravity and it's impossible to put down."

"Nice."

"Yeah, that one's awesome."

I keep reading.

"It's not that the guy didn't know how to juggle, he just didn't have the balls to do it."

The two us ooh and chuckle.

"I'm glad I know sign language. It's become quite handy."

"That's silly."

"That's real silly."

I read more.

"I forgot how to throw a boomerang, but it came back to me."

The two of us didn't feel that one. We nah'd. I continued.

"When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds."

"Oh, I get it now. It goes back..."

"...four seconds."

"Four seconds. Right."

"I once heard a joke about amnesia...but I forget how it goes!"

We laugh out loud and actually enjoy that one.

"Good one," said Rachel.

"When the power went out at the school, the children were...de-lighted."

"Mm, okay."

"Those fish were shy. They were obviously coy."

"Aw, that was cute."

"That was cute."

"That one's cute."

"Those two men drinking battery acid will soon be charged."

"Ugh, that's dark."

"Yeah, that one is kinda dark."

I continue a little more.

"What's a pirate's favorite letter?"

"Ah, I know this one! It's the letter the R!"

"No, it's 'Tis the C!"

Rachel burst out laughing.

"Oh, yeah. The sea as in the ocean. That's the best one so far."

"The midget psychic escaped prison. He was a small medium at large."

We both burst out laughing twice as hard.

"I'm inclined to be laid back. That's true. I actually feel that way about myself."

"That's it? That's the whole joke?"

"That's the whole joke. Cause he's reclining."

"Inclined. Meh."

"Newspaper headline read: Cartoonist found dead at home. Details are sketchy."

We laugh a little bit softer than before.

"That's cute," said Rachel.

"Man, I love this book," I admit. "Alright, that's enough. Until next time, puns."

"Hey, I know a place where we can chill out."

"Where?"

"Come on. This way."

I put the book away in my jacket pocket and follow Rachel to wherever she was going to take me. When we get there, the place appears to be some sort of building with the doors and windows covered with planks of wood.

"Here it is," said Rachel.

"Why does every place you take have to look so swank," I ask.

"Cause looks are deceiving."

We walk up to the front door covered in wood and Rachel tempts to open it. But door doesn't budge.

"Shit, it's locked," said Rachel pulling the sealed door.

"Well, of course it's locked, genius," I said. "Every door and window in this building is barricaded with wood. As if it were keeping itself safe from the apocalypse or something."

"In that case, Chloe, I think there's an opening through that window above."

Rachel had pointed out a window above the barricaded door that had been left open. It gave her an idea.

"If one of us can climb up that window and crawl through, we can find a way inside or something."

"And by we, you mean who?"

"Well, one of us is gonna have to climb through that window. That's what I mean by we. So who's going?"

 **X/SQUARE - CHLOE GOES**

 **B/CIRCLE - RACHEL GOES**

"I think you should go, Rachel. Come on, I'll give you a boost."

I crouch down on my knees and cup my hands together so Rachel can put her foot on it. As soon as Rachel has her foot on my hands, she climbs over my shoulder and makes her way up to the window.

"Damn, Rachel. You're heavier than you look."

"What can I say. Looks can be deceiving."

Rachel made her way through the window and was now inside the barricaded building.

"Are you okay in there," I ask.

"It's a little dark in here, but I think my eyes have adjusted," she replies from the inside. "I think I found a switch to turn the lights on."

I see light coming through the window.

"There, that's better," she said from indoors. "Hey, I think I found the keys to open the door."

"You did," I ask from my position.

I hear clicking on the doors. I assumed Rachel had already found the keys and was now unlocking it.

"There, it's open," she called out. "You can come in now."

I open the doors. Rachel has somehow disappeared from the doorway, but what I see instead is some kind of Halloween store filled with jack-o-lanterns, costumes, and decorations.

"Whoa," I say to myself. "What is this place?"

"Roar!" A voice thunders next to me. I shriek seeing Rachel in a Werewolf mask. She laughs at how I reacted.

"I got you good," she says.

"Jesus, Rachel! You scared the fuck out of me!"

"Oh, come on, Chloe. I would've reacted the same if you scared me like that."

"Yeah, you would've. What are you doing in that stupid ass mask anyway?"

"Oh, you think it's stupid? Why don't you put it on? We'll see how you look in it."

"Fine."

I snatch the mask off of Rachel's head and put the mask on myself. I feel ridiculous putting it on at first, but I didn't give a damn.

"There, how do I look?"

"Okay, that was a little rude, but you look scary is how you look. Give me a roar."

"Roar."

"Psff, come on, Chloe. Don't be a showoff. Roar as loud as you can."

I hold my breath and clench my teeth together to make the loudest roar possible. Than I finally let out a far better roar than the one that I just did.

"ROOOAAARRRR!"

"Wow, Chloe! Now your talking!"

"I guess this isn't so bad after all."

"Hey, look at this."

Rachel found a witch mask and put it on.

"I'm the wicked witch of Oz," she said with her witch impression. "Give me those slippers Dorothy! They're mine!"

We had a laugh with our mask on.

"Oh, Rachel. You're hella funny."

"Let's go wonder around the place for a bit. There's a lot of fun stuff we can do here."

"Sure thing, Rach. I bet there is."

We split up and explore the place. Still wearing our mask. Rachel walks off to one side of the store, I walk off to the other. On my side that I explore to had tombstone and cobweb decorations with spiders and skeletons. Along with little white sheets decorated as ghost hung on the wall. Than I find what appears to be a Magic 8-Ball.

"Well would you look at this," I say. "A magic 8-Ball. Huh."

I hold on to the 8-Ball and decide to ask it questions and shake it.

"Will me and Rachel travel to LA together?"

I shake the ball and I read my answer.

"Your chances are highly unlikely. Bullshit." I ask another question. "Will Step-Fucker leave my Mom for good?"

I shake the ball again and it answers: "The odds are slim to none. Like Hell. Will Rachel get to be a big celebrity as a model in Hollywood?"

I shake the ball once again and it answers: "Don't count on it. Something tells me we're shit out of luck. Will Rachel become Blackwell class president?"

I shake the ball once more, it reads: "Maybe or Maybe not. Will me and Rachel always be together?"

Shaking the ball again, it reads: "Not likely. What fuck is with all the negativity?"

I clear my throat before asking the ball one more question.

"Will I be able to see my childhood friend, Maxine Caulfield, again?"

When I shake the ball this time, I get a strange answer.

"Your hopes will come unnaturally. Mm. Oh, well. I guess not all my dreams will come true."

I put the ball away and see what Rachel is up to.

"Hey, Rachel. Rachel where'd you go?"

Suddenly, Rachel steps out of a coffin leaning against the wall with a Frankenstein mask on. Walking towards me with her hands stretched out in front of her like a zombie.

"It's alive," she says with an agitating impression. "It's alive. It's alive."

The way Rachel pulls off this stunt makes me laugh even harder than when we read the jokes from the pun book. Rachel never ceased to amaze me with all her pranks she pulled in this store.

"Got me again, Rachel. You're so making my morning so hella fun."

"The one and only, babe. Alright, I'm bored. Let's get out of here and find something else to do."

The two of us take our mask off and leave the store. I begin to wonder, does anything the Magic 8-Ball answers ever come true...or doesn't it?

Chapter 7 Part 2 The Prodigal Daughter Returns

Max

April 11th, 2014

1:20 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

 _"Wowser,_ " I say to myself frantically.

For the first time since I ever knew the name Rachel Amber, I have always waited to see the girl herself physically. And now, the blond young women who had been confirmed dead six months ago had miraculously appeared before our eyes. We stare at her as if we've seen a ghost. My heart begins to race. Chloe cups her hand on her mouth and sheds a tear.

"R-R-Rachel," begins Chloe sobbing. "Is-Is that really you?"

This cannot be happening. Last time I checked, Rachel had been buried and decomposed underground in the American Rust. How is she still alive?

"It's good to see you again, Chloe," said Rachel with a light smirk.

I put my hand over my chest. Chloe starts breathing heavily. She wants to say something, but the emotional awe gets the greater of her and keeps her from saying anything at all.

"Chloe, listen," began Rachel. "I know what you're thinking. I understood you'd act this way. I-I really thought I'd know what to say, but I don't, okay? I just don't. I really don't know where to begin-"

Chloe marches towards Rachel menacingly and smacks her across the face. In a matter of seconds, she lashes out at Rachel.

"I thought you were dead, Rachel," shouted Chloe. "You hear me?! I thought you were fucking dead!"

Chloe slapped her hands all over Rachel. Rachel tried shaking Chloe off so she would stop slapping her around and Chloe eventually stopped. Tears were drenching across her cheeks in disgrace. Joyce had been damn right about Chloe being unhappy, if not furious to see her ex-girlfriend come back from the dead. I had to help her out. I know how much Chloe can easily overreact with things and only I could make her feel better.

"Will you stop that," demanded Rachel. "Take it easy for a moment, alright? Just chill."

"Just chill," thundered Chloe. "Is that all you have to say? First of all, don't think I don't know you had been getting laid with that low-life, Frank that whole time. Second, you disappear on me thinking you had just left without saying anything all when we also thought you were actually dead. We checked the files. Every police record. The autopsy report. It all confirmed you were dead."

"Chloe, I owe you big explanation for this. I really do. Just hear me out for moment of your life. It's no surprise you'd be pissed for me showing up like this."

"Try me. I'm listening."

"Look, Chloe. For starters, about Frank, I wanted to tell you. I just wasn't sure how you'd react. But, it's nothing like that, okay?"

"Bullshit, I was not born yesterday, Rachel. All those pictures and letters I found in your boyfriend's RV were pretty romantic enough to make me believe it was everything like that. And then you get kidnapped and drugged by two psychic pricks who lock you away in some dark room under a barn and torture your ass by taking these creepy ass photos of you tied up on a fucking white screen."

"Wait, you know about that?"

"No, shit we know about that. I looked every for you, Rachel. For such a long time. When Max came back to town, that's when we started looking for you and when we found out the truth. The question is, how the fuck are you still alive?"

"Chloe, there's so much more I need to confess other than how I'm alive. Perhaps I should start with the whole dark room thing I guess."

Rachel turned her head to me and figured out who I was before she could start explaining.

"Your Max Caulfield, aren't you. Chloe had told me about you while you were away in Seattle. She would tell me stories about you every now and then when we were still together."

"Okay, Rachel," I said. "Now's not time to start a conversation about that. It would be more than the perfect time as any to start a conversation about how your still standing here breathing and all."

"Okay, then. Here it goes." Rachel took a deep breath. "Mark Jefferson was my favorite teacher at Blackwell. I was like a daughter to him. My whole life I had dreamed of being a famous model in Hollywood and I always thought Jefferson would be the person to accompany my dreams. And then, when the night I was drugged and kidnapped to that dark room came, that's when I realized who he really was. Also when I realized how he had used Nathan, as well. They offered me a deal. I run away from town, leave no evidence I survived, and never return. Nathan pays me a good chunk of his cash to go to California."

So far, Rachel's explanation was exactly what Chloe had predicted when we first discovered the dark room. The question was, what was it that we had actually found buried in the junkyard when we made sure what really happened to Rachel herself.

"Before leaving town, I had to fake my death by making it look real somehow. Can't say how. I meet this guy in San Francisco who offers me a way to start my career as a role model in LA and I take it. When I heard about the storm that hit Arcadia Bay six months ago, I feared the worst. I tried coming back for you, Chloe. I really did. But the National Guard wasn't letting people outside of town in at the time. Then when I hear Arcadia was back on it's feet, that's when I decided to return."

"Rachel, just stop, okay," said Chloe. "Just stop talking for one second. If you were alive this whole time, why didn't you call or something?"

"Because that would've given away my position, otherwise. I was only protecting myself and protecting you, too."

"That is bullshit, Rachel. You just didn't have the balls to confront me. I almost died the week Max came back to me and where were you when that happened? You ran away from me without saying shit just so you'd start your career. That's where you were."

"What are you talking about, Chloe? What do you mean almost died?"

"Dammit, Rachel. Just forget it alright. Get out. Just get the fuck out don't come back. Ever. Do you hear me? Get the fuck out now."

"Chloe, I have more. Please-"

"I said get out!"

 **X/SQUARE - SIDE WITH RACHEL**

 **B/CIRCLE - SIDE WITH CHLOE**

"Chloe, will you calm the fuck down!"

"Don't you fucking tell me to calm down, Max! This selfish bitch has got hella nerve showing up to my face after a year of bailing on me! Now you want me to calm down?!"

"Chloe, stop it! Rachel has more to say. So just hear her out for just a little bit longer before we start kicking her out. Go on, Rachel. Say what you have to."

Rachel sighed.

"I didn't come here just so I would see you again. I came here to help your friend, Max. I may know how to."

"Oh, please," scoffed Chloe. "And what could you help her with? Help her with her time bending abilities?"

"As a matter of fact, the answer is yes. You think Max is the only person on Earth with that power? I have that power, too."

Me and Chloe frown. Thinking it's some kind of joke or something. But Rachel proves otherwise.

"Okay, I know you don't believe me, but you will. Watch that bird."

Rachel pointed out a bird standing on the backyard fence. When the bird flew into the air, Rachel thrusted her hand aiming at the bird and froze into a bubble-like fragment of time.

The two of us are stunned at what she just did.

"Whoa," said Chloe.

The time fragment Rachel had locked the bird in eventually wore off. The same way my time freezing worked. The bird that Rachel had froze in time accidentally hit the wall of Chloe's house and hit floor dropping dead. Now all of a sudden we're beginning to believe Rachel's another time bender. And it would appear that she is.

"Now watch this," said Rachel.

The next thing she does is far more impressive compared to the last ability she performed. She dashed her way towards the small feathered corpse like a speeding, picked it up, and showed us something even more phenomenal. She walked her way back to us normally so we can get a closer look. She rubbed her hand softly on the deceased creature and just like magic, she had actually resurrected dead animal. The bird had gotten back on it's feet and flew straight out of Rachel's palm's into the broad daylight.

"Wowser," I say.

The next thing I know, I feel the atmosphere absorbing around me like there was no atmosphere at all. I knew this feeling. Time had stuttered itself again. But it wasn't me that pressed the pause button this time. It had been Rachel. We were the only two people in the yard invulnerable to the time stutter. I see Chloe standing next to me as still as Lady Liberty. I see more bird flying above the house that are stuttered in time as well. And I also see Joyce indoors frozen in the time stutter, too. Rachel smiles at me like she knew what I knew.

"You did this," I said. "Didn't you."

Rachel walked up to her ex and held her by the arm releasing her from the stutter. Chloe gasped and looked around everywhere. Understanding what state she was in.

"What the fuck," said Chloe. "Did-Did you do this?"

"Sure I did," answers Rachel. "Me and Max here are only immune to time stutters because we're time benders exposed to chronons inside our bodies. A man named Crosby had taught me that."

"Rachel, what the fuck is going on? How do you have powers too?"

"Same reason why Max has powers, of course."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means she's pure," I said. "She's one-hundred percent pure. Crosby told me that you can only have the power if you have the highest purity of vibes."

"Okay, I'm officially freaking out now," said Chloe. "Can someone please just resume time or whatever the fuck you call it."

Rachel allowed time to resume itself as I feel the atmosphere return to normal. Now me and Rachel are two peas in pod when it come to time travel. Our powers appeared to not work on each other in either one of us used them. Chloe tried to relax the best she could before asking Rachel something else.

"Let me get this straight. You, you had powers too? All that time you had kept this a secret? Just like how you kept your thing with Frank a secret?"

"Chloe, how do you think I became so popular at Blackwell? Let alone keep all these secrets from you. You really think I handled all that naturally? I've had these powers since before I left Arcadia. All the more reason I'm still alive and all the more reason I'm a Chrysalis fugitive just as much as Max is. That is why I find it more convenient coming back here now."

Rachel had been saying all this like she had been an expert at this with more experience than I could ever establish. She had also said it like she knew something about Chrysalis that I didn't. But what?

"What is it that you know that I don't, Rachel," I ask. "What is it that your trying to aid me with?"

"Max, you don't know these people like I do. You have a lot to learn about Chrysalis. Chloe, I know this looks far-fetched, but you have to let me help her. You know me. You know she needs help."

Chloe scoffed.

"I thought I knew you, Rachel," she said. "I really thought we had something together. I really did. And now I regret that I ever did. You damn right this is far-fetched. Do what you have to. I will not be a part of this at all. Just get out while you still can."

Chloe left us and went back inside without another word. I look back at Rachel. I always knew there was something mysterious about her popularity and her ability to hide her secrets for long as she wanted to. I think back to the day we found her false corpse buried down at the junkyard where me and Chloe had fell for her false death greatly. There must be something else she hadn't told us. They're really must've been.

"Max, you have to except my help. I know a lot more about all this than you do."

"Rachel, you want to be helpful, just leave while you still can and we can do business later. Chloe is moving on. It's time you do likewise.

 **Note:**

 **So there you have it. I've spent a lot more time developing this unexpected reunion than I had developing the flashback at the beginning. Just be warned, there may be times in this fiction I'm writing where Rachel might steal the show. I'm only doing this for fan service. For those fans who want Rachel brought back from the dead.**

 **BTW, most of these flashbacks in this episode may be stolen from The Last of Us Left Behind DLC as you may have noticed. I even used some jokes that Ellie and Riley read from their pun book.**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**


	8. A Tale of Two Time Travelers

Chapter 8 Part 1 Deputy Madsen

Max

April 11th, 2014

1:47 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Rachel had left when I told her to. I come back into the house and go upstairs to Chloe's room. When I enter her room, Chloe is sitting on her bed moping. I sit next to her to try and calm her down. I place my hand on her shoulder and stare at her in concern.

"I was wondering if you needed company," I said.

Chloe doesn't say anything.

"Chloe, talk to me. I know your pissed right now-"

"Max, just...I need some time alone for now, okay? The fact that my ex-girlfriend has miraculously come back from the dead and is now another time vigilante like yourself, I'm in hella far-fetched situation at the moment."

"Chloe, listen, I could be in an even more far-fetched situation being a fugitive to Chrysalis. At least, I'm not alone now. If what Rachel says is true, if I'm really in a lot more danger than I think I am from these people, she may be the only person to help me get through this."

"That's your dilemma, Max. Not mine. If you think that selfish cunt can mentor you, so be it. But you can count me out. That's all I've gotta say."

We hear someone coming inside the house from the front door downstairs and the voice of Chloe's Step-Father talking to Joyce. David had arrived early from the precinct for some reason. Didn't care why. Then we heard him coming upstairs and knocked on the door.

"Max, Chloe, you in here," he asked knocking.

"The usually spot, David," replied Chloe. Although Chloe never addressed David as Dad, she had managed to detain her habit of calling him Step-Douche or Step-Fucker.

David walked inside wearing his deputy uniform.

"Max, we need to have a private discussion," he said. "Chloe, mind if I borrow max for a quick minute?"

"Eye, eye, sir," said Chloe.

Me and David walk downstairs into the garage. David managed to take the liberty into taking down the surveillance equipment he had set up around the house and got rid of his files on Blackwell students such as Kate he had been stalking just to keep his promise to Joyce. When we're in the garage, this is what David has to say.

"Do you have something you want to tell me, Max," he asked.

"Like what," I reply.

David looked at me sternly. Whether it was a look to signify I was getting coy with him or a look of confusion. Either way, he had asked me like he was on to me about something.

"There's been rumors spreading through this town that you're a wanted girl for terrorism. Which I find extremely odd about you. May I ask why that is?"

Great. As if I hadn't had enough people breathing down my neck already. Now David had to be one of those people.

"How would you know about this?"

"There are no secrets kept from the law, Max. The Sheriff got a call from some guy named Crosby who's running this Chrysalis Corps saying they've been watching you and targeting you as some time traveler or some other weird shit. So do you mind telling me why?"

"David, please, this is ridiculous. How could you say that to me?"

"You did not answer my question."

I sigh.

"Fine," I say clearing my throat. "To make a long story short, they're accusing me for making that tornado that hit town come by due to time being tampered around with because me. But that's bullshit and you know it. You know a girl like me doesn't commit such a thing."

"Listen to me, Max, by the looks of it, the consequences for whatever this is sounds pretty severe. I understand they even paid you a little visit in Principal Wells' office today along with the District Attorney and Sean Prescott."

"David, you know me, okay? You know I'm a good person. I'm just a suspect."

"I know you're a suspect, Max. I just want you to be warned that whatever this, you're not only a suspect to this Chrysalis or whatever, you'll be suspect to the police as well. And I'll be damned if you end up being a no good crook worse than Nathan or Jefferson. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, sir. Understood."

"One more thing before you go anywhere, Max. I know you mean well, but as much as I'd hate to bust you for whatever treachery they're convicting you of, I'd like you to them seriously about it as you would take me seriously about it. Capuche?"

"Already done, David. You have my word."

"By the Max, Joyce tells me that Rachel's back in town alive and well and paid you and Chloe a visit. She even told me that Chloe was real pissed about it, too."

"I know, David. I even helped her try and settle with her ex the moment we first laid eyes on her in the yard. It wasn't easy, but you know your Step-Daughter as well as I do."

"Just be careful out there, Max. I once told you that they're a lot of dark places in Arcadia Bay. They still remain."

Before I walk out, I get text message from a private number.

 **Private Number: Max, it's Rachel. Crosby gave me this number. Meet me at the lighthouse tomorrow morning at 9 AM. Come alone.**

 **Max: ok**

Chapter 8 Part 2 Bricks and Cars

Chloe

April 19th, 2013

6:11 AM

5 Miles From Arcadia Bay

"Well that was hella spooky," I said walking out the store.

"Like Halloween in April," said Rachel.

"So now what do we do? We got a hella lot of things we could do here, you know."

"Well we could ride the Ferris Wheel. I'm just afraid it might stop on us like the Merry-Go-Round. But, I do have other plans, though."

"Like what?"

"Well, I did find this group of old cars that we could throw bricks at."

"You want to throw bricks now?"

"Sure, the cars are just right down this way."

Rachel escorts me to the group of old cars in a lot somewhere in the abandoned fairgrounds. When we get there, there's only three cars displayed surrounded by rope fences. With some bricks scattered around.

"Here we are. The car show."

"Who leaves cars at a car show in the middle of some abandoned fairgrounds?"

"Who the hell knows. So here's how it is. First one to break all the windows wins."

"Wait, if we break those windows, wouldn't we trip an alarm or something?"

"Relax, Chloe. These cars haven't used for like a decade. No one's going to trip an alarm. Are you in now?"

"Yes, maim. I'm in."

The two of us pick up some bricks that were scattered on the ground. We could only pick up one at a time since they were a little heavy to carry.

"Ready, Chloe?"

"Ready when you are."

Rachel throws her first brick at the front window of the car in the center. I throw my first brick at the car on the left side hitting the front window, as well.

"Two down on the ground," said Rachel. "Betcha can't beat me to it."

"Oh, I bet I can," I claim.

We continue throwing bricks at the cars and breaking the glass windows. We would say things like booyah, fuck yeah, or hella amazeballs. When we break all the glass windows of the first and second car, we're down to the third and last car in the lot. That's when Rachel gets really wants to beat me.

"Last car, Chloe. Last chance to beat me."

"Oh no you don't, Rachel."

We pick up as many bricks as we can as quickly as possible. We race ourselves back to the car as I try and smash all the windows to the last car before Rachel can. When we're down to the last window, Rachel beats me to it.

"Bullseye, Chloe. Call me a badass bitch."

"Oh shut up, Rachel. You brag about everything your good at. Then you wonder why Victoria hates you so much."

"Victoria can bite my slutty ass. Hey, there's an arcade place here we can hit up."

"There is?"

"Yeah, come on. Let's go."

Chapter 8 Part 3 A Tale of Two Time Travelers

Max

April 12th, 2014

9:09 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

I wake up early the next morning to get to the lighthouse where I was told to meet Rachel. I walk my way up to the hilltop where the lighthouse still stands six months after it's destruction from the storm. I see Rachel sitting on the bench behind the cliff smoking. Rachel had been a doper just like Chloe in their day, but Rachel never went to Rehab like Chloe had. I come closer to her. Admiring the radiant view that shined within.

"Your late," said Rachel blowing off smoke and tossing her cigarette.

"I came here as quick as I could," I said approaching her.

"Have a seat, Max. We have a lot to discuss."

I sit next to Rachel on the bench as she tells me to.

"What do you want from me, Rachel. Are they're any other powers you can perform that I can't?"

Rachel didn't answer. Not with her voice that is. Rachel pulled a switchblade from her pocket. She gently slices the skin off her left arm giving her an open wound that makes her bleed and feel the pain. I'm disgusted by what she does, but then I come to understand why she does it. Rachel absorbs some kind of healing energy on her wound with her right arm making her wound disappear. Now I've learned one of her powers that I don't have myself.

"Wowser," I say. "You resurrect thing and you can heal wounds. You sure know how to push daisies. What else can you do?"

"Let's just cut to the chase. Your world is about to get a whole lot bigger. There's a lot you need to learn about Chrysalis. They are out there. They don't just study the effect of quantum chemistry. Their an elite organization trained to hunt down time travelers and destroy them if they have to. If they discover any threat towards time and space, they'll do whatever it takes to eliminate that threat. One way or another."

"Why are you telling me this? You say this like I'm wanted dead or something."

"There's a good chance they could, Max. I'm only saying this to protect you. Don't expect Crosby to defend you too much. Prescott's got every state, county, and local law enforcement; Chrysalis especially, breathing down our asses. And they won't tolerate any acts of terrorism in this town."

"That explains David having a discussion with me about terrorism. Since we're both fugitives of Chrysalis and the law, you sound like the only expert you know how to survive fugitively from these people."

"The best advice I can offer is this. Lay low and don't use your powers to excess. It's that simple. You got that?"

"Sure. By the way, Rachel, could I ask if your parents or even Frank know that you're alive, too?"

"I've already check in with my parents back in Long Beach. As for Frank...I'm still debating if I should see him or not."

"Debating? Rachel, I think you should see him now if he still thinks your dead like Chloe did. Don't you think?"

"Max, now's not the time to be worrying about my personal affairs. Now here's another thing. If you think for one moment that you caused that storm that shattered the town months ago, you'd be wrong."

"What do you mean wrong?"

"What I mean by wrong is that I believe you've been set up. This is why you're being convicting for terrorism if I'm not wrong and there are only theories of disasters being caused by time tampering. They're aren't facts."

"Why do you think I would be set up?"

"I don't know. But I know for sure that storms can't be caused by time travel. I just know it can't."

"Well, that helps."

"Listen to me, Max. All that matters for now is that you keep your powers to a minimum and lay low or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else they'll be coming for you, Max. And they won't stop ever, until they've captured you...or they've killed you."

I think quietly to myself as soon as Rachel says this. I begin to really hate Sean Prescott's guts. Not only is he a man made of money and power, he is a man who became a bad influence on his own son. The only reason why he was used to kidnap and drug victims such as Rachel and Kate. Along with the one reason why he had almost killed the most important person of my life. Which reminded me, my feet was on the very ground I was forced to make the one choice that would reshape destiny. A choice between Chloe's demise and Arcadia's.

"Let me ask you something, Rachel. What if you had to sacrifice the most important person in your life for the greater good? Rewriting the course of history. Even if it had changed your life forever. What would you do, Rachel? What would you do?"

"Is that what you had to do when you got your powers? When I wasn't around for Chloe, but you were?"

"Rachel, you tell me I was set up. Yet, I knew at my very instinct that the storm was on me. Chloe was the one I could've sacrificed over this town as well as the six-hundred people who died with it. Instead, I took the risk of sacrificing the good people of Arcadia Bay for nothing over Chloe for nothing. And now I'm atoning my selfishness being a fugitive time vigilante. My question is, would have had the guts to do otherwise?"

"In what way would you have sacrificed Chloe?"

"I use a photo I took when I first got my powers to make sure Chloe dies by the hands of Nathan Prescott to make sure the week I first used my powers never existed. And now I have to come to terms of Chloe dying on me that one week because of her vibes. Do you know how ridiculous that sounds. Do you?"

"Tell that to Chrysalis. They're the experts on that bullshit. Not me."

"You know, Rachel, I should tell you something about my visions I've had for the past six months. About the end of time or some shit like that."

"Then we have something in common, Max. I've been getting the same kind of visions, too."

"Really? You have? Does mean you know when the end of time is?"

"Not necessarily, Max. I'm just someone struggling obsessively about finding the right answer just like you are."

Rachel took out a pill bottle from her shirt pocket. Revealing to be medication for Chronon Syndrome. She poured a pill on the palm of her hand and swallowed it. It was no surprise she had been under the same condition I had been in. After all, she had been experiencing the same mental trauma with visions of the end of time.

"Just be careful, Max. Your gonna need it.

 **Note:**

 **Sorry if this chapter was a little underdeveloped, but at least the last few words of this chapter was something. The next few chapters of this episode might be a little more better than this one.**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**


	9. More Answers

Chapter 9 More Answers

Max

April 12th, 2014

10:22 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Back at Blackwell, I walk into the front courtyard where everyone hangs around. When I walk up the steps to the front courtyard, I see something translucent a few feet away. The silhouette of the translucence appeared to be two men talking to each other. When the translucence is more visible, I see a clear vision of Prescott and Crosby talking with each other.

 _"How could tell that teenager hipster that you'll be defending her ass,"_ asked the clear figure of Prescott.

 _"This girl is going to be my responsibility from now on, Sean. Not yours,"_ the clear figure of Crosby answered. _"I know how to handle a person like Max better than you do and I don't need your mutiny for any treachery that's on her."_

 _"This girl is responsible for six-hundred deaths and you think you can defend someone against that?"_

 _"You know what I think, I think taking control of not only the police force but my Chrysalis forces just to erase some eighteen-year-old vigilante out of the picture is just your desire for power. Like everything else you do in this town."_

 _"Don't tell me what I can or cannot do in this, Derrick. My family is in debt. Not just because of the death of my son, but because we're in a tight position here with our reputation after that storm. My wife is still trying to get through Nathan's death, my daughter has to step out of Peace Corps and take the position of being my secretary I offered her, and now I have to worry about not one but two vigilante's reeking havoc in this town. Try not forgetting about that Rachel girl who disappeared in town a year ago."_

 _"Rachel is of no concern to me at moment. As of now, Max is my top priority. We don't need to be hurting either of them. Max especially. I don't need Raymond suing me for manhunt on a student."_

 _"Derrick, we have to control what happens in this town. Otherwise, it's going to hurt this town and it's going to hurt my campaign."_

 _"Says to man who let's Pan Estates hurt this town and his campaign."_

 _"You leave that to me."_

The translucent scene of the two men fades away into thin air.

 _"Wowser,"_ I say to myself. _"I can actually see memories of other people from the past now. If Crosby wants to take my defense, why give Prescott the privilege of taking control of Chrysalis?"_

"Max," said a voice that startles me. I look to my left to see Warren approach me.

"Oh, hi Warren. What is it?"

"Well, I just wanted to ask you something. I never asked why you called to the office yesterday. You in trouble?"

"Warren, it's a little complicated. I don't think it would be necessary to talk about it right now."

"Okay, sorry I asked. Anyways, Chloe had text me yesterday about how Rachel is still alive."

"She did?"

"Yeah, I didn't believe her at first, but she didn't care I did or not. Did know she was alive, too?"

"Warren, if you don't mind, I've got some studying to do in dorm. I just need some time alone."

"Whatever you say, Max. Which remind me, I've got some studying to do for Ms. Grant's class, as well. You still up for the Marvel marathon tonight?"

"If Chloe is still in the mood to do, sure. See you around, Warren."

"You too, Max."

Upon walking up to my dormitory, I encounter another translucent memory of two men speaking with each other. This time it's Prescott and Wells talking with each other in the middle of the courtyard in front of the dorms. I examine the memory closely and listen to what the men are saying.

 _"You can put your dog on a leash before you let it loose, Sean,"_ said the translucent Wells figure. _"I don't know who your to put a manhunt on a student like Ms. Caulfield. As if Ms. Marsh's suicide attempt wasn't enough as well as your son's death."_

 _"You leave my boy out of this, Raymond. For all we know, Ms. Caulfield is the only reason why this town was torn away by a twister. Making her responsible for six-hundred deaths. I'll see her rot in death row for that. The way I saw Jefferson rot in that place for my son's murder."_

 _"Mr. Jefferson had murdered many others. Your son included. My point being is that targeting a student for terrorism would be an act of controversy and would set up protest and riots all over town. Is that what you want for Blackwell? Is that what you want for Arcadia?"_

 _"What I want for Arcadia is to see the seasons pass and it's children grow by bringing a wanted fugitive from Blackwell to justice. Even if I have to send every Chrysalis and Police force to improvise by any means necessary."_

 _"You want any means necessary, try not sending Ms. Caulfield to her parents in a body bag. I'll be damned if that's going to occur."_

 _"Just so you know, Raymond, I have Burke and Karen by my side on this. You can side with Derrick like he sides with that teenage hippy of yours. I don't care what happens to Ms. Caulfield, but if anything else happens to this school or this town because of her; I'll throw her down the rabbit hole so deep, she won't even see the light. And they'll be no Wonderland down that hole. It'll be the fires of hell that'll consume her ass."_

"Hey, yo, hipster," a voice called from behind me. It had been Zachary holding a football in his hand.

"You raising the barn or what," he said. "We're trying to play catch here."

"Oh, sorry Zach," I apologized. "I'll step out of the way."

Zachary had been playing football catch with Logan in they're usual spot. The memory fades away as I step aside and let them play.

The more I hear Prescott talk shit, the harder I hate his guts. A wiseass as he is a badass. Is this how he had raised Nathan? To be a stubborn and self-esteemed crackhead to make sure no one controls him or tell him what to do and carry a gun with him all the time to intimidate people like he did with Chloe? I begin to think that Sean's tyranny is what made Nathan who he was. In fact, letting Chloe die by Nathan's hand could've set up a controversy with not only the school and the town it stands on, but with the Prescott family. Making them look like monsters for letting their heir slaughter an ex-student of Blackwell.

I get inside my dorm room and open my laptop to go web surfing for answers again. As soon as I open my laptop again, an email appears from my inbox. I click on it to read it.

 **Max**

 **If want to know more, go to these web links below:**

 **You'll see what I mean about these people.**

 **\- Rachel**

I click the web link and it takes me to a website dedicated to the Chrysalis corporation. When I'm at the home page, there are categories above. Home, History, Time Travel, Theories, Conspiracies, Contact, Special Projects, and Prescott Accord. When I see the words Prescott Accord, I stare at it a second or two. I jump to the conclusion that Prescotts have sponsored the corporation for time now. But why? How?

I skim through category tab I search under. Under History, it only talks about the founding of the corporation by Derrick Crosby and what the company has done over the past decade. Under Time Travel, it reads a brief history of time travelers discovered by Chrysalis as well as the powers and effects of time travel. Under Theories, are weather disasters that have happened in the past that were theoretically caused by the calamity of time travel. I couldn't access Special Projects nor Prescott Accord. They were both classified tabs and only members of Chrysalis or the Accord were granted access.

When I get to conspiracies, I somehow become more disturbed by what I read and see. Over the years, people with time abilities have been accused of causing natural disasters. Triggering government conspiracies on taking down the Quantum Crisis. Some conspiracies made by the government involved manhunt and assassination attempts to take down time vigilantism. There were some vigilantes that had been tried and charged of manslaughter and supernatural calamity. All of them had either been given the death sentence or their powers neutered.

Rachel was not kidding when she had said I never knew what I was up against. Before I could go surfing through anything else, a vision of the shadow figure incoherently flashes through my sight for a split second. Then the shadow's voice says my name through another split second vision. I begin to breath heavily. Then even more incoherent visions spontaneously flash forward. I see visions of not only the shadow and the Chrysalis tower, but see visions of Chloe's deaths that I prevented, visions of Jefferson, visions of Chrysalis hunting me down, visions of me walking down a huge crowd in front of a courthouse, visions of me in danger while Chloe screams my name, and visions of the end of time.

I accidentally collapse on the floor and land my back hyperventilating. I reach out for my pills. I had forgotten to take them today. A pill from my bottle is poured on my palm and I swallow it. As soon as the pill goes down my throat, I balance myself on my bed and take a lighter breath.

 _"What the fuck did I just see?! It's like I saw the future or something."_

I catch my breath knowing I could be in danger from Chrysalis. I get a hold of myself and get back on my laptop. I go to Google search and look up Prescott Accord. What I find out about them is that they're a secret society the family had started since the early nineteen-hundreds. They're also a community who helps people who are in debt of welfare or the economy. I text Rachel a message asking her about Prescott Accord.

 **Max: Does prescott accord ring any bells?**

 **Rachel: I think so. Do you get my email?**

 **Max: Yes. Have to admit, you werent joking about these people. All I know is that prescott accord is some kind of society that aids people who are in debt. Is there anything else I should know?**

 **Rachel: I don't know too much about them. All know is that they also have an association with chrysalis as u may have noticed.**

 **Max: I know**

Upon continuing my research, I stumble upon something else that catches my eye about the accord. The Prescotts had built underground shelters for protection against disasters that occur above and where can move to safety below. The shelters also provided food rations, beverages, and places to sleep. The typical needs people must acquire if they're to be safe underground. This definitely reminded me of the dark room that was built under the Prescott barn. Although, that was the shelter that I knew of at the time that had been financed by the Prescotts.

Rachel had told me I had been set up. Perhaps people like Jefferson and Sean P. did know somehow the storm was headed for the town. But how?

I Google more info about time vigilantes, but it's nothing more but hoaxes and theories. I search for some info about the end of time, but it's nothing else but the Mayan myth about the end of the world that had been dated two years from then. I spend hours attempting a ridiculous task of finding more bullshit answers. But the more I look, the more get frustrated by looking. I'd kick the floor, pound my head against the wall, and throw paper around the room until I eventually pass out on my bed.

After an hour or tow of unconsciousness, someone knocks on my door. I wake up startled when I hear the knocking.

"Max, are you in there," asked the voice behind my door.

I hear Kate's voice behind my door. I stretch my arms and yawn before getting off the bed to open the door for Kate.

"Max, you okay in there," she asks. "Could I come in?"

"Yeah, just give me sec. I'm coming."

I open the door for Kate and she has worried look on her face.

"What do you want, Kate?"

"Are you okay, Max? You haven't left your dorm in hours and we're just worried."

"Who's we're?"

"Me, Warren, Alyssa, Dana, even Victoria."

"What does Victoria care?"

"Well, her and the others were making complaints earlier about the ruckus coming from your dorm. We're just worried about you is all."

"Kate, I've had a pretty stressful day. I need some time alone. What time is it? I just fell asleep."

"Around four-ish. I think."

I look at my phone and it 4 PM sharp. Me and Chloe are supposed to meet for our date in two hours

"Damn, your right. It's exactly four-ish. If you don't mind me saying, I just want to be alone for while. I got date in two hours and I don't want to be late."

"Max, if you don't mind me saying, there's more I need to ask you."

"And what would that be?"

"There's been rumors spread around on campus about you. Not sure what it's about, but it's all coming from Sean Prescott or something. There's also rumors about Rachel Amber being alive, too. Should I ask about your part of the rumors?"

"Kate, I'm aware of the rumors, alright? I just don't want to talk about it. Just leave me alone."

I close the door gently in front of me and slide my back behind it. I sit there on the door of how crazy these past two days have been. First Prescott and the DA, then Crosby, then Rachel, then David, and now the whole school. What come next after that?

 **Note:**

 **Max now has the ability to see memories of the past where they're precisely located as you can tell by reading this chapter. Expect the next few chapters to lead up to an even bigger and more conflicting moment with Max.**

 **Here's a link to a poll I made for which voice actress should portray Rachel Amber:** strawpoll.me/10953376/r  **Let me know what you people think. If anyone is having a hard time figuring out who they are, look em up. I'll be closing the poll shortly!**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**


	10. Arcade

Chapter 10 Arcade

Chloe

April 19th, 2013

6:23 AM

5 Miles from Arcadia Bay

 **Note:**

 **For those who haven't read my updated note in the last chapter, be sure to vote for who should voice Rachel with the link in the last chapter.** **I've decided to close it down as soon as the episode is over. Once again, if you don't know who some of the voice actresses are, look em up. This whole chapter will be another flashback. This time it'll have it's own chapter instead of being split into three parts. Enjoy!**

We walk down to where the Arcade is and we see lit up sign that says: **STARCADIA**. Out of all the building in this joint, this one's light up like Christmas lights on a house.

"And here we are, 'Starcadia'," said Rachel.

"Damn, Rach. It's as if this is the only place that shines like a shooting star."

"That's why they call it Starcadia. Let's get inside. I think they left the door open."

This time instead of breaking in through a window, we just walks straight through the front door that's left open an inch. Rachel opens the door and let's me through first.

"After you," she says.

When we both get inside, we see arcade machines that are activated waiting for players to take control of them. The sound of the machines beeping was like the sound of us being teleported into an 8-bit style video game. We see arcade games like 'Pac-Man', 'Donkey Kong', 'Q*bert', 'Galaga', and even 'Hotdog Man'. Fighting games like 'Street Fighter' and 'Mortal Kombat'. Racing games like 'Cruis'n USA' and 'Daytona USA'. As well as shooter games like 'Time Crisis' and 'The House of the Dead'.

"Wow, Rachel. Unless there's a token machine that still works, I don't we'll ever get to play anything."

"Well it's a good thing I brought a little bit cash with me. Come on, I think I see a machine over there."

We walk over to a token machine where Rachel insert a one dollar bill and we receive 10 tokens.

"There, that should be enough tokens to play something," she said. "So what do you want to play first? Guitar hero or a fighting game?"

 **X/SQUARE - GUITAR HERO**

 **B/CIRCLE - FIGHTING GAME**

"I think I'm in the mood for some 'Guitar Hero'. I'd love to rock out with my babe."

"That's what I'd like to hear from my babe."

We walk up to a Guitar hero unit that has two guitar controllers. Me and Rachel can play together.

"Hey what do ya know," I said. "Two guitars. We could play together."

"That's right, let's get ready to rock," said Rachel.

We pick our guitars from the Guitar Hero unit and insert the coins need to play. Then we search through the list of songs we can play.

"Okay, Chloe. What does my bluenette babe want to play today?"

"Oh, look. They got my jam. 'Sabotage' by Beastie Boys. Let's play it."

"Good choice, Chloe. I was about to choose that one myself."

I select the song I wanted to play and chose to play it on medium difficulty to get a more decent challenge where you play with four notes on your guitar. Playing on easy with just three notes felt like a little kid's thing.

"You ready to hella rock'n roll, girl," I said before the notes start scrolling on screen.

"You hell know it, girl," said Rachel.

Rachel played the bass and I played the guitar. The first couple of notes appear on screen and we start pressing the note buttons on our instrumental controllers. Then the lyrics start playing.

 _I can't stand it I know you planned it  
But I'm gonna set it straight, this Watergate  
I can't stand rocking when I'm in here  
Because your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear  
So while you sit back and wonder why  
I got this fucking thorn in my side  
Oh my Good, it's a mirage  
I'm tellin' y'all it's a sabotage_

"Oh, this song is hella awesome, Rachel! We're going back to the fucking nineties!"

Rachel laughed as we continued playing our notes. The lyrics continued singing along.

 _So listen up 'cause you can't say nothin'  
You'll shut me down with a push of your button?  
But I'm out and I'm gone  
I'll tell you now I keep it on and on_

"I bet ya can't get the highest scorestreak," taunted Rachel.

"You're not gonna beat me this time Rachel! Not this time!"

 _'Cause what you see you might not get  
And we can bet so don't you get souped yet  
You're scheming on a thing that's a mirage  
I'm trying to tell you now it's sabotage_

"I bet I can beat ya to it this time, Rach. I really do."

"Bring it, Chloe!"

I play as hard as I can hitting every note correctly. My scorestreak bar is as high as Rachel's. I try my hardest to get every note right in order to beat Rachel's score, but I had the feeling that she would beat me again.

 _Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage  
Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage  
Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage  
Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage _

"Booyah, Chloe! Beat you again!"

 _I can't stand it, I know you planned it  
But I'm gonna set it straight this Watergate  
I can't stand rockin' when I'm in this place  
Because I feel disgrace because you're all in my face  
But make no mistakes and switch up my channel  
I'm Buddy Rich when I fly off the handle  
What could it be, it's a mirage  
You're scheming on a thing, that's sabotage_

The song had ended. I always wondered why Rachel had beat me at everything. I really did. Sometimes I felt like she had always cheated her way to win. Which is without a doubt no way to win. We put out guitars and find something else to play.

"Oh, don't be such a sore loser, Chloe. You were great. You wanted to play. And so we did."

"Why don't we just play a fighting game or something. Just so I'm not competing anybody with music."

"Alright, then. Let's play some Street Fighter. I think I know where that is."

We find the arcade unit for Street Fighter, but find an 'Out of Order' sign on it.

"Well, shit. It's out of order," said Rachel.

"Yeah, looks like the rest of these machines in this isle are out of order, too," I said. "Let's get out of here."

"Wait, I got an idea."

"What?"

"What do you say we pretend play?"

"Pretend play? How would we do that? Why would we do that?"

"Well, I can understand you hate me for beating you all the time and so if we pretend play, I can let you win."

"Okay...but - you know pretending to win something isn't really winning anything."

"I know, Chloe, but I want this to make you feel better. Even though it's just pretend. I'll narrate what you say, you shut your eyes, and put your hands on the controls like your playing."

"Okay, Rachel. Whatever gets me entertained."

I stretch my hands together and crack my fingers before I put them on the controls. Then I close my eyes just when Rachel begins to narrate.

"Okay, Chloe. You insert a coin into the machine and the game begins with the theme music."

I picture the first thing Rachel narrates in my head and so on. Pretending that I'm playing.

"You select Ryu and as your fighting character and Ken is your opponent. You have only three rounds to win and the fight begins."

I imagine myself playing as Ryu and fighting Ken. Then I see the two fighting characters on screen ready to fight.

 _"Round 1, Fight!"_

"And the fight begins as you fight Ken with all your might. But Ken Fights back. Hit the buttons. Move the joystick if you have to."

I make my own combination of controls pretending to fight Ken with Ryu.

 **LEFT LEFT XX UP UP**

"Ryu use his special moves to kick Ken's ass as Ken is using his special moves to kick your ass."

 **DOWN DOWN BB XX UP DOWN**

"Ryu deafeats Ken on the first round."

 _"KO!"_

"But the next round is a bigger challenge."

 _"Round 2, Fight!"_

"Ryu makes the first move, but Ken makes his move quick than his opponent does. Ryu must use his blocking moves to avoid getting hit."

 **UP UP YY BA RIGHT**

 _"KO!"_

"Ryu is defeated by Ken. The next round becomes the hardest round he must face."

 _"Final Round, Fight!"_

"Ken makes every last move to defeat Ryu once more. Block his moves, Chloe. So you don't get hit this time."

 **RIGHT UP AA XA DOWN**

"Before Ryu is defeated again, he now make his ultimate finishing power to defeat Ken on the final round. Finish him, Chloe!"

 **DOWN UP RIGHT DOWN AX XA BY YAB BYB LEFT RIGHT UP DOWN**

 _"KO!"_

"Ryu wins the fight! Chloe Price is now a Street Fighter master!"

I open my eyes knowing I actually had fun pretending to play a game from a great fighting game franchise. I smile and give Rachel two high fives with both hands in the air.

"Rachel, you have a hella imagination for entertainment. You really do."

"Hey, Chloe."

"What?"

"There's something I have to tell you...and you may not like what you hear."

"What would I not like that I'm about to hear?"

Rachel sighed and cleared her throat.

"There's a wise man that I know who could mentor me with my future. And I may have to leave town to do so."

"And who is this wise man? And why would you have to leave town?"

"You remember Mark Jefferson? The photography teacher at Blackwell?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, he's been my closest teacher and I've been his closest student. He says he'd like to take me someplace where I could start my career. I said I would be honored. I was wondering if you'd be okay with that."

"What are you getting at, Rachel? Is some kind of goodbye or whatever?"

"It could be. I just don't want you to be upset if I have to leave for some time."

"Well, it's not like you'll be gone forever, right?"

"No, not really. I just may have to miss like one week of school or so if I have to come with Jefferson. That's all. Which reminds me..."

Rachel pulled out a camera from her backpack that looked like my Dad's camera.

"How 'bout a little photobomb before I leave town."

"Hey, where did you get that? That's my Dad's camera, thank you!

"Relax, Chloe. I grabbed it out of your room before we left. You said I could use it if I need it."

"Not without asking you can't."

"You want to take the photo or not?"

"Fine, I'll smile for the camera."

Rachel held my Dad's camera in front of us to take our photobomb. Rachel gave a light smirk and I put my middle finger in front of me and gave an angry frown. Then Rachel took the shot from my late Father's camera.

 **Note:**

 **And that was when Rachel and Chloe took that photobomb you see in season 1 in my fiction. I'm not to familiar with the Street Fighter lore. Sorry for those of you that do play street if I didn't make enough references for you. I hope you all like this flashback with it's own chapter. The next chapter will snap back to the present.**

 **I also sorta stole the Beastie Boys song from the Star Trek Beyond soundtrack. If you don't mind. Don't forget the poll for potential Rachel Amber voice actresses. The link is on the note of chapter 9 if you did not catch it.**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**


	11. Movie Night

Chapter 11 Movie Night

Max

April 12th, 2014

4:20 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Price/Madsen Residents

I came back to Chloe's house to make sure she was still in the mood to go out tonight. I found her in her room moping down at the selfie her and Rachel took just a year earlier when they snuck out to the abandoned place. She glanced at me briefly when I came in her room. I give her a smirk to sort of cheer her up or something, but she just starred down back to the photo of her and Rachel. I sit down next to Chloe willing to say something to cheer her up, but I instead remain silent.

"She had saved my life when we first met," said Chloe. "I loved her like she was my new Max. Yet she hooked up with some asshole named Frank and ran away from me for months like she didn't give a fuck. And now she has powers like you do. I don't know what else to say."

"Listen, Chloe. I had a pretty stressful day, too. Perhaps a little Marvel Marathon might help us satisfy our day?"

"I guess so. I understand Step-Deputy is now breathing down your ass. The way Prescott and Chrysalis is. I also heard about the rumors that were spreading in Blackwell about you, too. About you know what."

"I don't think anyone at Blackwell understands the rumors as well as we do. Even Warren. Even Kate. Everyone else I'm close to at school. Hopefully, Principal Wells will try and shut the rumors down just so no one cares. It'll be a good way to help me keep a low profile."

I pat Chloe on the shoulder and leave her room for a moment.

"I'll be ready to leave when you are," I said.

April 12th, 2014

4:44 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Road to Drive-In

When Chloe drives us to the drive-in to meet Warren and Brooke, I tell Chloe about everything I discovered on the site Rachel had sent me. Chloe is overwhelmed with the profanity I'm suffering with more insult being added to injury.

"So you're telling me that they're have been government conspiracies against people like you because they're getting blamed for disasters that occur supernaturally and this Prescott accord; the people who so sincerely help the people of our town, are in allegiance with Chrysalis somehow?"

"Chloe, I'm just trying to take their warning seriously as hard as I can. Hell, the Prescotts are probably in allegiance with everybody like Nathan always said. I just still need answers to solve my problems for my sorrowful life and I've spent countless days and nights doing so. Meanwhile, Rachel wants to be my Master Yoda for time traveling. She has abilities I've never experienced yet. Sorry if that's too wicked for words."

"Too wicked for words? Max Caulfield, I now realize that our sorrowful lives are far from over. And I'll be fucked if we're gonna let some wannabe Hitler of Arcadia Bay, the District Attorney's office, and some time travel corporation get in out way."

"You do realize that my power has not made us invincible, Chloe. It has now made us vulnerable. Not just to the dangers of Arcadia, but to some super-powered corporation supported by the Prescotts themselves."

"And why do I have to be brought into it?"

"Because sometimes I think my selfishness about ourselves is the only reason why they're after me. Since the day Nathan assaulted you in that bathroom, I knew power could buy many things. And since the day I ripped that photo on that cliff, I knew power could corrupt. Being a wanted fugitive is the price I'm paying for the choice I made. Yet, Rachel tells me that I had been set up. That it wasn't my fault. That I was someone's scapegoat. The more answers I search for, the more questions I ask myself. It's that simple."

"And why would Rachel tell you that you had been set up, by the way? Who the fuck else would create a ginormous tornado that would annihilate through an entire town? Another time keeper?"

"I don't know, Chloe. I'm not playing detective again like we did to find Rachel."

"Says the girl who's obsessively been playing detective about the end of time for the last six months in a row."

"Whatever, Chloe. I just want something off my mind from that is all and a good time at the movies can be one of them. You know that."

"I know that you have Crosby trying to be your body guard from all this. Why doesn't he give you all the answers?"

"Chloe, he only told me what he thought was important to me. A lot of other things Chrysalis know is probably classified. Who knows?"

"My first guess is Crosby. That's who."

"Shit."

Another text message bleeped from my phone and I receive a message from another private number.

 **Private Number: Max Caulfield. This is Sean Prescott speaking. This is your final warning. Any more time wielding activity will be met with extreme consequences from Chrysalis forces and federal law suits.**

 **Private Number: Do not think I'm bluffing. I will have you tried and prosecuted for anything treacherous you commit.**

 **Private Number: I MEAN IT!**

April 12th, 2014

5:01 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Arcadia Bay Drive-In Theater

The time is going on 5 PM. We arrive at our destination and Chloe stops her truck by the gate in front of the drive-in. Chloe pays for our entry and the man at the toll opens the gate for us to drive through. She parks the truck a few parking spaces away from where Warren parked his car.

There were some other Blackwell students that came to the marathon as well. Some that were dating and some that were just outing. The Marvel Marathon was going to show three movies from the cinematic universe; Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. We see Warren and Brooke outside standing by their car waiting for us.

"There goes Brooke and Warren," said Chloe parking the truck. "Want to go say hi to them?"

"I guess," I said.

We get out of the truck to talk to the other teenage couple before the movie starts. They notice us approaching and appreciate us showing up.

"Max, Chloe, glad you could make it," said Warren.

"What up, Warren," said Chloe giving him a five and a knuckle.

"You all ready for some Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America?!"

"Marvel always wins these days, Warren. Not even DC could be it."

"That's not necessarily true, Chloe," said Brooke. "Besides, the Dark Knight trilogy was the shit. Even me and Warren thought it was phenomenal."

"True," said Chloe. "I'm just starting to like how Disney is taking control of my favorite franchise nowadays."

"You like Disney movies, too," asked Brooke.

"Sort of. Me and my partner in crime used to watch classics like the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and the Lion King when we were younger. But we grew out of it. That's all."

"This is starting to feel a little awkward double dating bi-sexuals."

"Oh, relax, Brooke," I assure. "That's sounds a little sexist when say that."

"Yeah, Brooke," assured Warren. "We're all here to have a good time and enjoy the show. Who care's if we're double dating lesbians."

"Yeah, Brooke," Chloe interfered. "Me and Max have been dating for six months since I first saw her again back at Blackwell. Cut the sexism."

"Alright, I'm cool," said Brooke. "Me and Warren are just used to single dating is all. No problem."

"Okay, then," said Chloe. "I'm gonna go get some concessions. Anyone want to come with me?"

"I'll go, I guess," said Brooke.

"Great. Warren, mind if you watch over Maximus for me while we go get some snacks?"

"No problem, Chloe."

"Thank you."

Chloe and Brooke took off to the concession stand to get some popcorn and drink Me and Warren talk for a few minutes before they come back.

"So, Max, about the whole thing with Rachel, how is she still alive now? I wanted to ask Chloe, but she didn't want to."

"Well, Warren, that's kind of a complicated question, actually. I'm not even sure if Chloe wants me to tell you."

"Oh, come on, Max. You can tell me. It's not like Chloe needs to know."

"Fine. To make a long story short, she managed to escape her kidnapping and ran off to San Francisco to look for a job and took it. Turn out she didn't get killed after all. She faked her death and ran away. That's all I could say. What did Chloe have to say?"

"She didn't say much. She sounded pretty pissed when I tried asking her more when she text me. Hey, Max."

"Yeah?"

"Don't take this personally, but uh...do mind me asking about these rumors about you at Blackwell?"

"Warren, as matter fact, I do mind actually. Whatever rumors you hear about me at school, don't believe them. Okay? I have more than enough people hovering behind my neck as it is."

"Alright, Max. That's fine. I don't need to ask if you like to take it personally. That's fine by me."

My phone bleeps another text message from Rachel.

 **Rachel: To your left.**

I turn to my left with to see a spark shinning through the bushes behind the car lot.

"Uh, Warren. I gotta get some fresh air if you don't mind. We'll talk about this later."

"Alright, do what you have to."

I walk up to where Rachel was hiding and see her step out of the shadows with the two of us standing and breathing in stuttered space and time.

"Just when I thought my stressful day was over with. What do you want?"

"You weren't followed on the way here, were you?"

"No. Were you?"

"Never mind that. Just listen. I got a text from Sean Prescott today saying he'll have prosecuted for using our powers."

"Yeah, no shit. I too was threatened with the same message Mr. Prickscott sent me."

"No, Max. There's more. We're being watched by Chrysalis spies. Watching our every move."

"I'm sorry, what? Chrysalis spies? Did you just say spies?"

"Yeah, spies."

"What the fuck is going on here, Rachel? How much more series can this get?"

"I'm telling ya, Max. These people are series. We're not only being watched under surveillance, we're being watched by undercover operatives or whatnot who are hired to suspect any activity that involves time bending."

"Oh give me a fucking break, Rachel. What didn't you tell me this earlier? What else do I not know about these guys that you haven't told me?"

"Look, Max. I don't like this anymore than you do, but you need to be careful. Mr. Prickscott is a man with serious trust issues and for all I know, he's very overprotective in this town lately. Bottomline, don't trust anyone. It's that simple."

"That simple? Well who can I actually trust then, huh? Those this mean I can't even trust Chloe either?"

"There are only two people in this town you can trust and you trust only. Me and Chloe. That's who."

"I understand how I would trust you, but why Chloe? Why her only?"

"Because I know who Chloe is just as much as you do. That's why."

"No you don't know Chloe as much as I do. I've know Chloe since Elementary School. You've only known Chloe when I had left Arcadia Bay."

"Don't argue with me, Max. I only want to help. I only want to protect. Sorry if I couldn't say this sooner. I understand Chloe has moved on and I'm more than capable of doing the same."

"Rachel, just one more question."

"What?"

"You had told me that someone had set up with that storm. Is there at least anyone your suspecting who it could be?"

"I don't know that yet, Max. I've got not no leads on that. Just take my advice seriously and you'll be fine. That's all."

"Max," Chloe shouted from a distance. Having not noticed I was talking to Rachel.

"Coming," I respond.

"Well, that's your cue," said Rachel. "Guess I'm gonna have to let you go. Enjoy the show and stay safe, Max."

"You too, Rachel."

The second Rachel had left the Drive-In and I came back to Chloe, I had been unaware that there had actually been a spy in my presence. It had turned out to be the man controlling who had just seen me talk to Rachel at that very moment.

"Inform Chrysalis, I had spotted Max Caulfield and Rachel Amber in the Drive-In theater in Arcadia," said the spy dressed as a gate guard. "Amber had just departed. Caulfield is with her friend Chloe Price watching the film this instant."

April 12th, 2014

6:33 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Drive-In Theater

The marathon had started an hour ago. Me and Chloe sat on the top of our truck eating popcorn and drinking soda. The first movie that was shown, Iron Man 3, was now an hour in. We were now watching the scene where Tony Stark was being held captive and counted down to five before his pieces of armor flew threw the window and took out the guards that were watching him.

I lean against Chloe's shoulder and she wraps her arms around my neck comforting me. It was going to be a long night before the marathon ended.

"Chloe."

"Yes, Max?"

"About what I earlier, I just want you to know that whatever happens we need to prepare for the worst. That's a fugitive takes things seriously."

"Max, I understand you want to prepare for the worst, but there's little we can do for right now. Just sit tight and watch the movie."

My phone bleep another text again. I answer it getting annoyed by who would it be this time. It was Crosby.

 **Crosby: Max, this is a reminder to please take Prescott's warning seriously. I tried convincing him to go easy on you, but his jurisdiction got the greater of me. Please reply to this message so I know you've acknowledged of Sean's warning.**

 **Max: Acknowledged, sir. If there's on thing I never like about Mr. Prescott, it's his guts.**

 **Crosby: LOL U and me both.**

 **Crosby: I also would like u to know that I left u a book about Chrysalis in ur dorm if ur interested.**

 **Max: Thank u. I appreciate it.**

 **Crosby: NP**

 **Note:**

 **For those of u already getting bored of this episode, don't you worry. Until now, my writing has been building up to one of the biggest upcoming scenarios that I really look forward to writing. It's only a few more chapters away and it may be your favorite chapter yet!**

 **Until next time, stay tuned.**


	12. Squirt Guns and Brain Stew

Chapter 12 Part 1 Bleed

Max

April 13th, 2014

7:00 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Blackwell Academy

I wake up early Sunday morning in my dorm with my alarm clock sounding then snoozing it. I yawn, stretch my arms, take my meds, and get off the bed taking a look at the book about Chrysalis Crosby had left me. The book is titled:

 **CHRYSALIS**

 **TIME TRAVEL**

 **FOR DUMMIES**

 _"Time travel for dummies, huh? I'm gonna need it."_

I walk into the shower room, wash my face with faucet water, and get into the shower with water running through my naked body. When I'm washing my body, I notice something strange running through my skin. I see my blood veins streaming through hand palm and flashes of incoherent visuals of the shadow figure. As my blood veins grow darker and darker and my visions pace quicker and quicker, the streams of dark blood running through my veins stream through my arms to everywhere else in my body.

I fall on the wet shower floor with the water still running and cough up weird blood as if I had Leukemia. My heart feels like it wants to give out. I look at my hands completely covered with dark blood streams. The bloods streams makes it's way over to my neck and all over my face with my eyes and nose bleeding like rain. I scream in terror while visions of the worm hole above the Chrysalis tower stutters in my mind.

I wake up in my dorm room with the alarm clock going off again gasping from consciousness and breathing heavily. Knowing it was all another maniacal nightmare.

Chapter 12 Part 2 Squirt Guns and Brain Stew

Chloe

April 19th, 2013

6: 32 AM

5 miles from Arcadia Bay

"So how much longer are going to be here," I ask. "I don't need Mom or Step-Shit scolding me for sneaking out."

"No one is going to scold you for anything, Chloe," assured Rachel. "What do you even care what Step-Shit has to say. We're not going to be here for that much longer. Come on. I've got a few other things we could do before we go."

We walk into a pawn shop located next to the Arcade where there's radios, instruments, music, and weapons displayed everywhere. Rachel puts her backpack on the ground to take out a few things.

"Remind me why we're in this creepy pawn shop again, Rach-"

I pause and see her carry two pump-action squirt guns out of her backpack. Loaded with water.

"Whoa," I said.

"Huh? You prepared to get soakin' wet," she asks tossing me one of the squirt guns.

I catch the squirt gun with both my hands instantly. Before I could drop it, accidentally. I look at Rachel with a smirk on her face and moves her eyebrows up and down. I chuckle.

"You're so going down, Rachel," I say pumping my gun.

"May the best girl win," she says pumping her gun. "Think fast."

All of a sudden, she sprays water at me with her gun and runs off with my clothes now wet. I looked away when I got sprayed and Rachel is out of my sight.

"You snooze, you lose, Chloe," she said from somewhere in the shop. I wanted to squirt her so bad.

"Oh, I'm gonna get you, Rachel! You're still going down!"

We run around the pawn shop playing cat and mouse taking cover from place to place to avoid getting soaked. I did eventual squirt Rachel and got her wet. I taunted her the first time I soaked her.

"Oh, boo hoo. Rachel all washed up. You gonna cry now?"

"It's not over yet, Chloe. It's not over."

She quirts me again and we continue to take cover and run around the shop. I peak left and right from my cover checking my surroundings as my Step-Cocksucker would do in the field. Me and Rachel taunted each other hunting each other down to soak each other.

"You can run, but you can't hide forever, Chloe Price," shouted Rachel.

"I'm not getting any wetter if your just going to keep hiding from me, Rachel Amber," I shouted back.

I keep checking the perimeter until I find my blue jay. Another thing Step-Dick would do. Then I catch Rachel off guard and squirt her in the back.

"Bullseye!"

"Hey, no fair! I wasn't looking!"

I ran away from her as quick as I could. We keep on running around soaking each other in circles. I feel like I've just walked out of the rain or a river with my body all soaking wet. Rachel's hair is now drenched in wetness. We eventually run out of water and then our squirt gun game is over.

"Well, shit. We're out of ammo," said Rachel.

"That's my Step-Douche talking," I said. "Now what do we do? Now that we're soaking wet?"

I give back my squirt gun to Rachel so she would put them back where they belong. Then she offers one more piece of entertainment before we leave. She pulls out cassette tape out of her backpack just she puts the squirt guns away.

"Okay, Chloe. I know we're a little wet at the moment, but here's a little something to dry us up. Check it."

Rachel holds up a CD album of another one of my favorite bands.

"Hey, that's my favorite Green Day album. Insomniac."

"I sense my girlfriend wants to rock out with our favorite rock band, no doubt?"

"Hella, yeah. Let's play it."

Rachel inserts the disk in a radio and plays 'Brain Stew' by Green Day. When the music starts, I begin to like Rachel even more.

"Come on, Chloe. I'm insane in the brain."

I laugh. We start dancing to the music on a dance floor in the center of the shop. Then lyrics to the song begin.

I'm having trouble trying to sleep  
I'm counting sheep but running out  
As time ticks by  
And still I try  
No rest for crosstops in my mind

On my own, here we go

"Welcome to the mosh pit, shaka brah," said Rachel dancing along.

"You mean our mosh pit, shaka brah," I said dancing along. "Sing with me now."

My eyes feel like they're gonna bleed  
Dried up and bulging out my skull  
My mouth is dry  
My face is numb  
Fucked up and spun out in my room

On my own, here we go

"Sing it, sista," said Rachel.

"You sing it, sista."

"No you sing it, sista."

My mind is set on overdrive  
The clock is laughing in my face  
A crooked spine  
My senses dulled  
Passed the point of delirium

On my own, here we go

All of a sudden, Rachel merges towards me and presses her lips against mine. She had taken me by surprise with such quick move she had just made with me. We hold each other by the waist while our lips press against each other.

After we make our move, we overhear voices from outside. We pause. It was the sound of someone searching for us.

"Shirt, turn it off! Turn it off," demanded Rachel.

I turn the music off and eject the CD out of the radio. We see flashlights shining through the boarded windows and could hear the voice more clearly.

"I hear music coming from this building," said a voice from outside. "Check the perimeter. I know someone's here."

It was the police.

"Son of a bitch," said Rachel.

Chapter 12 Part 3 Time Travel for Dummies

Max

April 13th, 2014

12:21 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Blackwell Academy

I wanted to try and come out of my dorm room that day, but I was too afraid of myself getting made fun of by other students with all the rumors flooding the school. I eat my lunch while reading the book Crosby gave me inside my dorm. My friends such as Warren and Kate would text me if I would come out, but I would text back saying I needed time alone. I had understood their worries, but it was my choice to stay in.

Sometimes I could never understand what's worse to be obligated with. The death of a person who means the world to you or the death of hundreds of people just to save the one you love and just to become a fugitive convict of supernatural terrorism. I'd go through hell either way. At least, the person I cared about the most is there to help me get through the obligation I withhold. Let alone a person with the same gift I withhold.

Reading through the book about time travel, I learn more about quantum chemistry and how time travel works. It talked about the experiments the staff of Chrysalis had worked on. Experiments with machinery powered by chronon particles and even with people exposed to chronon particles for test subjects. Chrysalis appeared to be the kind of organization that need lab rats for certain programs.

There was also a chapter in the book that talked about chronon exposure. Reading it through, it pretty much explained what Crosby had explained two days earlier. Only with more details.

People can be exposed to chronons in many ways. For instance, people can either be exposed to chronons during experimental accidents or can be given chronon cells from the butterfly spirit. Legend has it, the butterfly spirit gives people with the highest purity the power of the butterfly effect. Meaning the person must have the greatest atmospheric influence on his or herself as well as on the people who surround them. Just like Crosby told me.

It even mentions how the time space continuum controls every living on the planet by vibes. How time and space attempts to make the pure live longer than the damaged and how one can be made pure as well as damaged just like Crosby had also mentioned.

Then I get to the conspiracy chapter. Same old shit. But this time I find something different. There's one conspiracy I haven't read about. People have tried to the stop the quantum crisis by using some kind of supernatural rituals. The kind of rituals that had been performed by a sacred order known as the Order of St. Loomis.

 _"The Order of St. Loomis,"_ I thought. _"Who the hell are they?"_

But not even the book of Time Travel for Dummies could explain. And I knew the internet would not explain either because I had searched countless amount of times already for answers alike. I just wouldn't waste my time. All that it could explain was that it was religion founded by the Loomis family. Rumor has it, the family had disappeared from existence from a ritual gone wrong. No other details were mentioned. Maybe I should ask, Rachel?

I give Rachel a call on the phone to see if she might have the answer.

 _"Hello, this is Rachel."_

"Rachel, it's me, Max."

 _"Oh, hey Max. What's up?"_

"I was reading this book Crosby gave me about time travel and I think it's missing one little detail."

 _"And what would that be?"_

"Does the Order of St. Loomis ring any bells to you?"

 _"The Order of St. Loomis? Not necessary. Why?"_

"Well, that's what I'm calling you for obviously. I'm trying to figure out you set me here. Would you have any leads?"

 _"Not at the moment, Max. But I am doing the same as I speak and I'm doing my best-"_

I hear something strange on the phone when Rachel cuts herself off. It's sound of fast moving vehicles pulling over somewhere. Then the sound of men marching in.

 _"Shit! Gotta go! Can't talk now!"_

"Rachel, you okay? What's going on? Rachel?"

Then I hear the sound of gunfire before Rachel hangs up. The kind of gun fire you would hear in war or action movies. My heart races.

"Rachel! Shit!"

Then the receiver sound hums on my phone. I look at my phone knowing Rachel's in danger now. Perhaps Chrysalis is there to take her out? If so she would be in danger. I try giving Chloe a call to tell her she's in trouble. But if she's in trouble, wouldn't I be so, too?

Before I call Chloe's number, I here the sound of sirens wailing from far outside the school. Already, I smelled trouble. This couldn't be happening. It was probably the police coming to take me away or worse yet...Chrysalis.

"Oh, shit."

Chapter 12 Escape From the Police

Chloe

April 19th, 2013

6:40 AM

5 miles from Arcadia Bay

"Dammit, Rachel! You knew the police would be here," I shouted running out of the building with Rachel.

"Shut up and hurry," she said "We've got to get out of here fast!"

With the cops closing in to search for us, we knew we would get in trouble again. I'd be fucked over if I have to wear another pair of handcuffs and my wrist and have my Mother and Step-Douche put up with it again.

We hide behind a wall or two to make sure the cops don't see us. Now me and Rachel have to get past an obstacle course of cops shining flashlight around the carnival

"Now what do we do," I asked quietly. "Tell me you didn't know the cops would be here, dammit. Tell me."

"Shhh. No I didn't know, okay? So the police were watching this place. If I had known that, I wouldn't have brought you here."

"So how the fuck are we supposed to get out of here? The cops probably got the front entrance surrounded."

"Okay, listen. We need a diversion. We can lure the cops away from the front entrance. Then we can make a break for the motorbike."

"And how are we supposed to do that? Who's going to make the diversion?"

"That's your call, Chloe. Not my mine."

 **X/SQUARE - CHLOE DIVERTS**

 **B/CIRCLE - RACHEL DIVERTS**

"Why don't you create the diversion. You always sound like you know what you're doing anyways."

"Alright, listen. I'll distract the police and lure them away. Once they come after me, you make a run for the entrance. Assuming we can make it back to bike without getting busted. Comprende?"

"Comprende, shmende. Assuming they don't find out who we are. Which they might. So where am I supposed to be once you lure them away?"

"Find somewhere to hide. I'll try taking on one of these cops."

I do what Rachel tells me to. I get behind something before one of the cops sees me. There is one cop I see who is closing in on my position shining a flashlight in the direction I'm hiding.

 _"Has anyone found them yet,"_ says a cop on the radio.

"No, sir. The area is secure," the cop responded on his radio. "Moving on to the next area."

 _"Suspect has been sighted in my position. Headed for the front entrance. Cut her off."_

"Roger."

The cop who was closing in immediately back out responding to catch the suspect. That who was Rachel. She must've already made her diversion. I make a run for the front entrance until a cop cuts me off and spots me with his flashlight.

"Hey," the cop shouted.

I gasped.

"Stop right where you are," he ordered.

I run away from the cop that chases me and try to shake him out of his sight. I needed to find Rachel fast before the police could bust her as well as busting me.

"I'm in pursuit of another suspect," said the cop on his radio. "She's headed in the same direction. I need backup."

 _"Affirmative."_

I manage to shake off the cop that was after me. Then I manage to find Rachel who had been chased after, as well.

"Chloe, come on," she shouted. "This way!"

I keep up with Rachel who appeared to be leading me in the direction opposite from where we entered.

"Where the fuck are we going, Rachel?! The front gate is that way!"

"The cops have police cars blocking the way! We've to get around them!"

The police pursued us around the parking lot filled with cop cars. Luckily they were no cops were the police cars stood to detect us. Only the ones that were chasing with their flashlights beaming around the direction we were running.

"Chloe, the bike! It's over there! Come on!"

We manage to make our way to the bike as we quickly hop on, start the engine, and step on it driving away from the fairgrounds and loosing the cops for good. Rachel almost got me in trouble again and it made me sick.

 **Note: I never got to mention about Rachel using her powers before Max came back to town. Chloe can't see the effect of Rachel power because obviously she doesn't have the power. More scientifically speaking, Chloe's not exposed to chronons. As they are theories online stating that Rachel had rewind powers, Rachel had used them to beat Chloe at everything, become a popular high honor role student at Blackwell, and get Chloe out of trouble in my fiction. Rachel had just recently used them to keep her and Chloe from getting busted in the chapter you finished reading.**

 **Get ready for the next chapter. The one chapter I've been waiting to write for a long time now. You may all know what the next chapter is going to be about. Expect it to be fully action packed as I've said in the last episode that I wanted to write in a few action scenes in my fiction. I may need time developing it just to make it the best chapter yet! It just might be worth the wait.**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**


	13. The Fugitive

Chapter 13 The Fugitive

Max

April 13th, 2014

12:30 PM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

Blackwell Academy

Danger was closing in on the time travelers inhabiting the Quantum Crisis in Arcadia Bay. A Chrysalis chopper hovered above the waterfront of Arcadia and was now approaching the shore and into the town itself. Ready to assist the Chrysalis forces alluding capture of their fugitives.

 _"Big Bird, this is HQ. Bravo Team is currently in pursuit of Amber. I repeat, in pursuit of Amber."_

 _"Roger that, Chrysalis Actual. Any word on Caulfield?"_

 _"We have confirmation of Caulfield inside Blackwell Academy. I repeat, Blackwell Academy. Alpha Team is moving into Caulfield's location now. They request immediate assistance on her apprehension now."_

 _"Wilco, Big Bird out."_

Frank Bowers stepped out of his RV parked on the shore while gulping down his last sip of Whisky and tossed it smashing it into glass. He slouched down by is doorstep nearing when he saw the Chrysalis chopper flying above him with his dog Pompidou barking.

A convoy of Chrysalis military hummers and vans drove rapidly passed the 'Welcome to Arcadia Bay' sign. The rapidly moving convoy drove into the street passing through the street next to the harbor. Joyce had seen the convoy from inside the diner moving faster than a stampede of Wildebeests. The convoy eventually passed through docks, gas station, and lumber mill turning into the street that would take them to Blackwell.

 _"Alpha 1, this is HQ. Be advised, they are students preparing for emergency evac on campus. Do not engage on or apprehend Caulfield until the campus is secure of staff and students."_

 _"Acknowledged, HQ. Alpha 1 out."_

 _"Alpha 1, this is Big Bird. On route to Blackwell Academy. Prepared for assistance if needed."_

 _"Roger that, Big Bird. We have order not to engage on or apprehend Caulfield until campus if secure from staff and students evacuating the vicinity."_

 _"Wilco. Big Bird out."_

The helicopter flew above the convoy that was now only half a mile from Blackwell. Prepared to aid Alpha Team to take down Max Caulfield.

I hear the sound of a helicopter's propeller miles away from campus. Not to mention the sound of fast moving vehicles with sirens whaling headed for the school. I smelled trouble closing in on Blackwell.

 _"Attention all students and staff,"_ said Mr. Wells on the intercom. _"Please evacuate to the gymnasium immediately. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."_

"Oh, shit," I say.

The helicopter was now hovering over the school grounds and students in were staring at it suspiciously. Then the Chrysalis vehicles rushed their away toward the front side of campus and came to a holt next to the sidewalk. Some vehicles purged their away into the parking lot as well. Chrysalis soldiers dressed in full military gear stormed their way out of the vehicles with assault rifles in their hands marching their way towards every entrance on campus. Panicking every student on the front courtyard confused at what they were seeing.

There was one soldier with no mask or helmet on that step out one vehicle with a rifle in his hand who had been commanding the entire unit of Chrysalis troops.

"Secure the campus," he said on his radio.

As troops were making their way inside, students were in a panic. Questioning themselves what was happening and what was going on. There had not severe incident at the school since Kate Marsh's suicide attempt. Only this matter was worse than that.

The soldiers emerged their way inside the school while students that were indoors shrieked out of their while they ordered every to get where they were supposed to be. The troops managed to have every staff and student remain calm from the classrooms and hallways and escorted everybody to the gymnasium on campus. The Blackwell security even had to help aid the evacuation as well.

Another group of soldiers escorted students out of the back courtyard and out of their dorms as well. Warren and Kate are stunned by the sight of Chrysalis troops as well as other students I was close to. Although they did do what the soldiers had ordered every other student to do.

How could this all happen in a matter of two days after I had been warned by Prescott and the District Attorney? What have I done? I feel like the most selfish person in Arcadia Bay since the week I received my power. Now what was I supposed to do? Should I surrender to Chrysalis or hid in my dorm until they find me?

I had to get out of here, but it wouldn't be easy. I had to call Chloe immediately to come down here and help escape this travesty. That's exactly what I did. I remain inside my dorm while everyone else evacuates to the gymnasium and dial Chloe on my phone.

"Come on, Chloe. Pick up. Pick up," I say with the dial tone still ringing. Then Chloe answers.

 _"Oh my god, Max! Are you okay?! I saw those guys headed for the school!"_

"No, I'm not okay, Chloe! Listen, they're here. Chrysalis is at the school clearing the grounds and their here to take me away! You've got to get here quickly and help me get the hell out of here!"

 _"Max, I'm on my way! Just be careful! I don't care if you have to use your powers! Just don't get yourself killed! I'll meet you at the school parking lot."_

Then Chloe hung up. I can't hide in here forever. They're going to find me and arrest me or kill me. I only wondered if Rachel made it out okay. If she had powers just like me, she may have been able to take care of herself for the moment. I hoped.

While Chrysalis forces were escorting students to evac, Principal Wells came to talk to the person in command to ask what was the real situation.

"Principal Wells, Captain Clayton Cage. Chrysalis Security Task Force," the lead soldier introduced himself with an ID in his hand.

"What's going on here, Captain," asked Mr. Wells. "You had better give me a real good reason why I'm dragging students out of class."

"We're here for Max Caulfield, of course. We have warrant for her arrest as we have a warrant to search the school."

"Under who's authority, Captain Cage?"

"Under Sean Prescott's authority, Mr. Wells. I hope you wouldn't mind questioning the staff or students if they've seen Caulfield or not."

"Do what you need to. Just so I'm clear, I will only tolerate this matter only if it means arresting Ms. Caulfield. Not harming her."

"I make no guarantees. Alright everyone, listen up! May I have everyone's attention please!"

Captain Cage was now shouting out to the students and staff gathering over to the gymnasium. The crowd paused for his attention so they could hear.

"I'm Captain Cage. Chrysalis Alpha Team. I know your all a little freaked out at the moment as to why we're here, but I need everyone's cooperation if we're to succeed. Now I will ask you all a simple question. Does the name Max Caulfield ring any bells to any of you?"

The crowd of students began murmuring to each other mentioning my name and asking each other who was Chrysalis supposed to be and what they wanted from me.

"Alright, I'll take that as yes. Now just one more simple question. Where is Max Caulfield? Anybody know? Yes? No? Maybe so?"

A majority of the crowd started asking each other where I would. But no one knew the answer. The more Chrysalis stuck around campus, the more it worried everyone in the crowd.

"Warren, I'm scared," said Kate standing next to Warren in the crowd. "What are they going to do with Max?"

"I don't know, Kate," replied Warren standing next to Brooke. "Just stay calm, alright? It's not like they want to hurt Max or anything."

"Okay, this freaking me out," muttered Victoria. "There are soldiers all over the school with guns and helicopter like they're ready to go to war with someone and it looks to me like they want to hurt Max bad. Real bad."

"Oh, shut up, Victoria," said Courtney. "You're only saying that because you hate Max so much."

"I do not."

"You do too."

"I do not."

"You do too."

"Will you two be quiet," Dana intervened. "The principal's talking!"

"I need everyone's attention please," Mr. Wells demanded after he whistled. "The authorities are only here to arrest Ms. Caulfield. They mean no harm. Until then, I want everyone to cooperate with the authorities and head for the gymnasium as we speak. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone in the crowd said yes. Almost convinced of what Mr. Wells had told them.

"Alright then, you heard your principal," said Cage. "My men will escort you to safety. Dismissed. The rest of you, search every last part of the school for Caulfield."

"Yes, sir," replied a Chrysalis trooper.

"HQ, this is Captain Cage," he reported in on his radio. "Alpha 2 is escorting staff and students to safest evac point on campus. Alpha 1 will be moving inside the build to find Caulfield."

 _"Affirmative, Captain. Be advised, Amber managed to give Bravo 1 and 2 a wide birth, but they'll be continuing the hunt as we speak."_

"Copy that. Cage out. Move in!"

I look outside my dorm room window and see mercenaries pushing forward inside the school. I'm a sitting a duck in my room unless I get the fuck out of here right now. If I'm ever to encounter any of the mercs, I would have no choice but to use my powers to my advantage. I had to think fast. Sooner or later, the mercs would be closing in on the dormitory shortly and I'm a dead girl if I don't get out before they get.

I either had two options. One, go the window and drop down safely or escape up to the rooftops before the soldiers could catch me. But those were options I'd probably get wrong either way. Even if I get out from the window, it probably hurt myself. Even if I could get out from the roof, I'd be more vulnerable to chopper hovering over the school on higher ground. I had to choose - and fast.

 **X/SQUARE - ESCAPE THROUGH WINDOW**

 **B/CIRCLE - ESCAPE TO THE ROOF**

"Alpha 1 to Cage. We're moving into the girls' dormitory where the target is likely to be hiding."

 _"Do what you have to Alpha 1. Just remember, we need to target alive."_

"Roger that. Alpha 1 out. Move in!"

The troops marched their way toward the dormitory entrance ready to breach. One soldier stood by one side of the entry and another stood by the other. Then they kicked the door to the dormitory open and merged their way inside. Checking every room in the dorms to make sure I wasn't hiding in either one. Once they cleared every other dorm, they eventually, made it to mine and cornered it. Getting ready to break in. But when they kicked my door open, I was nowhere to be seen. They did see that I had gone out the window by leaving it open. One of the soldiers peeks out my window and I was still nowhere to be found.

"Cage, this Alpha 1. We've cleared the dormitory. No sign of Caulfield. She's likely to have run off elsewhere on campus."

 _"Acknowledged, keep searching the campus. I'll have more men searching the rest of the school."_

"Wilco, Alpha 1 out. Move out!"

The soldiers rushed their out the dormitory and out the courtyard. They split up for better odds of finding me.

"Search the perimeter," said a soldier from Alpha Team. "She can't have gone far."

One of the soldiers on the team noticed that the janitor's storage area had been left open. The room I found Samuel's paint can that spilled on Victoria that first day I used my power. The soldier searched the storage on the corner of the dorms and I was still nowhere in sight. That wasn't until I managed to lure the soldier inside and knock him on the head with a shovel I found in the room. Once the soldier was out cold, I put the shovel aside and searched his body for weapons I could use to defend against the soldiers.

How could Prescott rat me out like this so quickly? Rachel was not only kidding about these forces from Chrysalis, but perhaps wasn't even kidding about the spies either. Whoever had been spying on me probably informed Chrysalis of my actions and notified Prescott to be aware of what I had been doing. Other these mercs wouldn't be here.

Searching for a weapon would mean that I would have to shoot my way past the soldiers. Although Chloe had taught me how to shoot, I've never shot a person before. But I almost did when I first encountered Frank at the junkyard. This time, my gun would be fully loaded and pulling the trigger may kill one of the mercs instantly.

I took a pistol out of the soldiers holster and unload the clip out of the grip to see how many rounds it had. It only had ten bullets. The trooper did have more clips for more ammo to shoot, however. I even took his ballistic knife from his vest just in case. If I were going to get past these soldiers, I probably shouldn't rely on my powers. I also steal a radio from the unconscious soldier just to listen out for whatever their up to on their channel.

I grabbed what I needed, stepped out of the room, and checked my surroundings with a pistol in my. I scanned the courtyard for any soldiers nearby and it was clear. Upon exiting the dormitory area, I take cover behind a wall where I see three guards posted in the same area David had harassed Kate that first day I had powers.

"Where do you think Caulfield could've gone," asked one of the soldiers.

"I don't know," replied another soldier. "Wherever she is, she won't get far. We'll find her."

"How do you think Bravo is dealing with Amber."

"I don't know either. Our objective is Caulfield. If we have to worry about Amber, we will."

 _"Alpha, this HQ. We have new orders from Prescott. Caulfield is to be shot on sight. I repeat, shot on sight. Whenever you see her, shoot to kill. I repeat, shoot to kill."_

"Roger that, HQ. Alpha out."

"Oh that's just terrific," said the other Chrysalis trooper. "Now we have to kill a Blackwell student. After the Principal promised everyone that we would just arrest her?"

"It doesn't matter what the Principal promised. All that matters is that we fall in line, find Caulfield, and kill her. Under Prescott's authority."

I did not just hear this on the radio. They actually want to kill me the second they see me. Now they're really starting to mean this. Guess I'll have a real good reason to shoot a soldier or two.

 _"Max, it's time to brave. Times like these call for extreme measures."_

 **X/SQUARE - USE STEALTH**

 **B/CIRCLE - USE COMBAT**

What was I kidding? I had to be fighting these guys if I wanted to live. I step out of my cover and aim my gun towards a soldier moving one direction away from me while the others split up. I stand their wide open like a sitting duck who just wants to get shot. What am I doing? I've never shot a person cold-blooded before. I'm starting to feel the same way Chloe felt when she had shot Frank in cold blood. How it would feel to take a life to save another.

When I have the soldier in my sights, I want to shoot him the moment he sees me. I really do. Yet I hesitate. Knowing I don't have it in me. My finger gently touches the trigger ready to shoot down my enemy. But just when I'm about to shoot the enemy in front of me, another soldier catches me from behind.

"Hey," shout the soldier from behind me.

Without hesitation, I spontaneously turn around and shoot him three time before he drops dead on the ground.

"It's Caulfield! Kill her," says the soldier I was aiming for.

Just when I had shot that one soldier three times in the chest, another soldier had me in his sights and opened fire. Before any of his bullets could hit me, I instantaneously dodged the bullets at the same speed as the bullets themselves. Every time I had zigged when he zagged, he would misfire. As I dash through every bullet he fires, I eventually dash towards him and strike him with my fist pushing him a few feet in the air and bumping into a poll knocking him out.

"I've got her! She's over here," yelled another soldier.

I dash past a bullet or two the soldier fires and my next move is to use my time stop to keep him from firing on me. And to make things fancier, I firing a couple rounds at the soldier I froze in stasis making bullets freeze into the stasis bubble that form a spark inside the stasis field I made. When the stasis bubble wears off, the spark of bullets flash into a lethal spark kill the soldier instantly.

 _"Wowser, I did not just do this,"_ I said to myself. _"I just took out three soldiers single fucking handedly!"_

 _"I heard gunshots coming from the east side of campus,"_ said a soldier on the radio I stole. _"Moving into position now."_

I had to get out of there. I took an assault rifle from one of the soldiers just for better odds, stole some clips and ammo for the rifle, and hoped over the brick wall for a shortcut. I knew reinforcements would be coming from the front side of campus and there would be no escape for me there. Hell, from where I was standing, there's no escape anywhere.

While everyone was still evacuating to the gymnasium on the west side of campus, the students were able to overhear the gunshots as well. It was beginning to leave the crowd in panic.

"Were those gunshots I just heard," said Juliet standing next to Dana in the crowd.

"Oh, this crazy," mumbled Logan in the crowd. "So fucking crazy."

"Everybody settle down," Captain Cage ordered trying to keep the crowd calm. "At ease, ladies and gents. Just minor setback. We're only doing everything we can."

"Captain Cage, what's going on," flustered Mr. Wells. "Why did I just hear gunshots on my school?! You're scaring the students!"

"Principle Wells, we're just doing are job if you don't mind! Don't question-"

 _"Captain Cage, this is Alpha 1,"_ said a soldier on the radio. _"We have three soldiers down! I think Caulfield might've shot our guys!"_

"What do you mean shot our guys," questioned Cage on the radio. "Caulfield's just an eighteen-year-old teenage hippie who's unarmed. She can't shoot our guys."

 _"She may have done more than just shoot our guys, sir. She probably used her powers or something."_

"Shit. Alright, I'm sending reinforcement your way. Keep searching for Caulfield."

 _"Affirmative."_

 _"Cage to Alpha 3. Fan out into the school building and search for Caulfield."_

 _"Roger."_

I was a teenage hippie with time wielding powers against an army of Chrysalis troopers. With a rifle in my hand, ammunition and a pistol in my purse, and a radio attached to my pants, I started to feel like Rambo. My first blood had been three Chrysalis troopers. Whenever those soldiers came about, I couldn't hesitate to use my powers and weapons against them if I wanted to live.

Why couldn't Rachel help me prepare for this more if the pressure was going to be this high. She knew they would bust me or waste me this soon. She knew it would be only a matter of time before Prescott would rat me out like this. She knew they would stop at nothing to take me down however high the stakes were. And she knew me and Chloe would be furious for letting us come unprepared.

I made a run for the courtyard behind the main campus. Just hoping I could maneuver my way to the parking lot where I was supposed to meet. Suddenly, the helicopter hover above my position on the courtyard. Now that it's spotted me, it alerted every trooper on campus of my presence.

 _"Alpha, this is Big Bird. We have visual on Caulfield. She has been sighted on the back courtyard behind the main campus building."_

 _"Roger that. Moving into Caulfield's position now."_

The back door to the main campus building burst open with soldiers charging towards me. I gasp.

"There she is," shouted a soldier. "Open fire! Open fire!"

Once they got into their attack positions and started unloading on my ass, I quickly dashed toward a sitting bench for cover. I had five soldier shooting my ass down while I was behind cover. They had me outgunned. I needed to be smart. I've got time powers. Perhaps I could use them to outflank the soldiers.

I time dashed towards another bench for cover and immediately shoo down two of the soldiers with my rifle before they could notice. Then I dash my way towards more cover and shoot down the other three soldiers. I was starting to feel like an action hero from an anime. Perhaps a Final Fantasy hero of some kind.

The helicopter hovering over the courtyard dropped down tightropes for more soldiers drop in. Once the soldiers slid down the tightropes, the helicopter flew away and the soldiers started attacking.

I take cover again before I get shot to death. Before the soldiers open fire, I remember another ability I could do with my powers. When the bullets started flying towards me, I thrust both my hands in the air form a bubble shaped force field around me creating a time shield that protects me from the incoming bullets and when the bullets hit the force field, they form into little sparks here and there like fire crackers. The shield eventually wears off and I immediately dash for cover.

I shoot down the rest of the soldiers with my rifle and do some fancy tricks to my advantage while being attacked as well. I dash into a few soldier and instantly mow them down with my rifle at close range. I also use my time stop on my foes and shoot bullets into their stasis fields killing them more brutally.

Once I finish off the soldiers that roped down from the chopper, another squad of soldier come busting out the back door with a little friend. This time, they bring a more upgraded soldier on their team. A heavily armored soldier with special plating used for knee pads and shin guards as well as a heavy duty bullet proof vest carrying a tactical shotgun. This type of soldier must've been used for fighting close quarters from it's opponents. Which was me.

The heavy duty soldier pumps his shotgun and starts unloading on me like the rest of the troops. When I try shooting the soldier myself, the vest on his body becomes his greatest ally against my will. Not a split second later, I take a bullet to shoulder and screech in agony. Feeling the pain on my shoulder. I stay down behind cover pressing my palm against the bullet wound on my shoulder and clench my teeth together attempting to fight through the pain.

I've never felt the pain of a bullet wound before and I outgunned by a bunch of Chrysalis goons while bleeding out on the ground. I try rewinding time so I don't get shot, but it doesn't seem to work that way if I'm wounded. Just like when Jefferson injected me that night disabling my powers. Then I feel my palm do something to my wound. It felt like I was able to heal my wound like Rachel was able to do when she cut herself.

I gently put pressure on my wound allowing powers to heal the bullet wound and I gasp when the bullet wound is completely. Then I remember another ability I can use with my power. My time blast of course. I could use it blast my way past the soldiers.

I clench my fingers together forming a ball of energy. When my time blast is fully charged, I thrust the energy directly towards the squadron of soldiers including the armored grenadier simultaneously blowing them away like dynamite. A field of energy circulates around the pack of fallen soldiers lying on the ground and eventually wears out.

I was running low on ammo for my rifle and picked up the grenadier's shotgun exchanging my weapon. I also grabbed some of his shotgun shells for ammo. Out of nowhere, more soldiers closed in from the left and right side of the courtyard completing surrounding me and outnumbering. I rewound time for brief moment to give me more time to escape. There were two escape routes I could take to get to the parking lot. There was the back door to the main campus building or the door to the school kitchen that would go to the cafeteria as well.

The soldiers came around the two corners again and I rewound once again just to me some time to think where I should go next. If I take the back door to the main campus, there may be other soldiers posted in the hallways. I take the door to the kitchen, I may not be as exposed.

 **X/SQUARE - TAKE THE BACK DOOR**

 **B/CIRCLE - TAKE THE KITCHEN DOOR**

I made a run for the kitchen door quickly before the soldier came back around again and barricaded the door with a chair to keep them from coming inside. I knew it wouldn't keep them out for long, but it would be me enough time for me to escape. I make way out of the kitchen and into the cafeteria. The soldier would be breaking in any second now.

 _"Alpha 3 to Alpha 1, Caulfield has entered the school building. Be advised, she will be using her powers to her advantage. Stay alert and keep your guard up."_

 _"Roger that, Alpha 3. Alpha 1 out."_

 _"HQ to Alpha. Alpha 2 has managed to get every staff and to the gymnasium according to Captain Cage. We've also confirmed from Bravo team that both Caulfield and Amber may be working with someone driving a rusty truck on route to Blackwell Academy. I repeat, Blackwell Academy."_

 _"Acknowledged, HQ. As Bravo identified the driver?"_

 _"Negative, Alpha. Bravo is still in pursuit of Amber at the moment. Keep searching for Caulfield while you still can."_

 _"Roger."_

It was Chloe. It had to be her. She must've been spotted with Rachel for whatever. And now she's in danger because of me. I had to get to Chloe fast before Chrysalis could catch me. I hear the soldier attempting to break the door down in the kitchen from the cafeteria. When I make my to the exit, the is looked. No way out. The soldiers manage to break the door down from the kitchen and I needed to hide.

"Check the perimeter! She's in here somewhere!"

I hide behind on of the tables in the cafeteria before they can see me. I had just remember my time vision. I use it to pinpoint everyone hunting me down in the room so I know how many guys I'm taking on. I spot at least six soldiers in the room. Then I remember my time rush. What if I used it against one of these guys? I immediately come up with a strategy.

I whistle across the room startling every soldier looking for me. Making them aim their guns at where the sound I made came from. I activate my time rush over to one soldier that allows me to slow everything else down but make me run like the Flash and the jump in mid air knocking down soldier with one strike from behind. Then I activate my time shield before I get shot at and then dash my way to another soldier and shoot him with my shotgun plunging his ass with a spray of shotgun pellets killing him instantly.

I shoot down the rest of the soldiers shot gun along with my powers. When I had time stopped one of soldiers and shot specks of shotgun pellets into his stasis field, it was an even more brutal kill then one I had done with a rifle.

Once the area was cleared out, I catch my breath. I'm starting to get more confident in fighting these guys now. Let alone getting blood on my hands. Exactly how many people have I killed including the people that died during the storm. I had never thought I would actually have to kill this many people in my whole life.

I shoot the locked door open making my exit out the cafeteria. I run out of shotgun shell have to stick my pistol this time. Whatever the odds. I think back to how Chloe had shot Frank and Pompidou to death before I rewound. Killing one man and his dog was one bargain. But an army of soldiers and six-hundred civvies felt like I had just did 9/11. Unless what Rachel said was true about me getting set up, perhaps I would've killed a little less than six-hundred. Unfortunately, Rachel's idea of me being set up has not been proven true.

I suspected that there would be more guards down the halls and there was. Walking down the hallways was the place where I needed to be the Blackwell Ninja again. Where stealth was my best option.

I sneak around every corner taking cover behind a wall or a row lockers to make sure I wasn't seen. I use my time vision to scan the main campus. Around every corner I see a guard moving back and forth where there posted. Enough shooting these guys. Time to play Hitman and take these guys out ninja style. I could make less noise that way.

A soldier approaches the corner I hid behind and I snare him from the arms pulling him towards me. I quickly grab my knife I stole from the first soldier I knocked and stab him in the waste multiple times until he drops down on the floor. One down on the ground. The next soldier I take out I kick in the leg and stab him in the shoulder and cut his throat open before he drops down bleeding to death.

I couldn't believe I was doing this. I've become a real cold blooded killer when it comes to stabbing and shooting these guys. This was all too serious for me. As long as these soldiers had order to kill me, there was really no other way out of this. If only Chloe and everyone else I'm close to could see me now.

 _"Captain Cage, I thought we agreed you take Max unharmed,"_ Mr. Wells yelled on the radio.

" _Smith, Jenkins, get Principal Wells out of my sight before I lose my patience,"_ Cage ordered.

 _"HQ to Cage. We have confirmed the identity of the driver in the truck to be Chloe Price. She's likely to be headed to the school grounds to help Caulfield."_

 _"Roger that, HQ. Who the hell is Chloe Price?"_

 _"According to Caulfield's records, Price is a close friend of both Caulfield and Amber. Keep your eyes peeled for her if she's ever comes close to the campus."_

 _"Wilco. Cage out."_

Just fucking typical. Of course they'd come after her. I've officially brought Chloe into this now. I still needed to find an exit to her at the parking lot. I attempt to make my way out the school through the school library. There was an exit I could use to make my way to the car lot past the library.

The second I walk into the library was the second I accidentally bump into a soldier guarding the doorway. As soon as me and the soldier are startled, I dash an inch past him before loosing my grip a little and immediately dash for cover behind the bookshelves and take out my pistol. I fight off the soldiers in the library as hard as I could with my gun and powers. I even snatch a rifle out of a soldiers hand take him out instantly. Same strategy as before. Take cover. Use my powers. Shoot 'em down. I take cover behind reading tables and bookshelves to avoid enemy fire and kill every soldier I come across. Once the room was clean, I hear my radio again.

 _"Caulfield has been spotted in the school library. Deploy some teargas in there so she doesn't get away."_

Suddenly, cans of teargas shatter through the glass windows in the library and the room starts filling itself up with smoke that makes you tear up. I cough on the gas as it spreads through the library. I make way for the exit out of the library back into hallways knowing I wouldn't make it to the exit that would take me outside. I get of the library back into the hall before the library is completely filled with teargas. I drop down on the floor coughing out the gas I inhaled. My mouth felt like it swallowed smoke out of a bong. I get back on my feet when I'm done coughing it out.

I'm loosing my breath taking the heat of these assholes sent by Prescott. One way or another I had to get out of this school alive. The cost couldn't be too great with the benefit of my powers I necessitate to my survival. I only hoped Chloe would make it here alive and those Chrysalis troops would treat Mr. Wells and the students including Warren and Kate fairly.

 _"Alpha 4 to Cage. We've checked the library. We have four operatives down. No sign of Caulfield. She's likely to have escaped the perimeter before the gas could take care of her."_

 _"This is it. Forget the main campus. Block all the exits. I want every operative available to prepare to open fire if she ever tries leaving the building, ASAP."_

 _"Roger."_

Just when I thought the heat couldn't get any worse. Now every Chrysalis trooper invading Blackwell is going to kill me moment I walk out of here. My chances of survival were even slimmer than before. I want to walk out the front door where they're likely to kill me the second I'm there. I have the power to take out everyone of these fuckers who stand in my way. I really do.

 _"Front exit blocked."_

 _"Back exit blocked."_

 _"Storage room exit blocked."_

 _"Kitchen exit blocked."_

 _"Library exit blocked."_

 _"All exits blocked Captain. Ready to engage on Caulfield."_

 _"Be ready for anything. The girl's likely to use her powers before she's killed."_

 _"Affirmative."_

I approach the front door where I peak through the window and spot a dozen troops with their guns trained on the front exit. I think things through for moment. Perhaps if I'm quick enough, I could use my time shield to block the incoming gunfire before the bullets butcher me to death and then use my time blast to shove the soldiers away.

 _"You can do this, Max,"_ I say to myself. _"All you have to do is walk out that door and show them what it means to be Super Max."_

Han Solo always said never tell me the odds. Justin Bieber always said never say never. Mark Jefferson always said always take the shot. That's exactly what I told myself.

I take a deep breath in and out. Then I open the door knowing that I'm now walking into the crosshairs and triggering my death wish. Not a second too soon, the fingers on the triggers are pulled to send me to the gates of heaven. But my time shield makes sure things occur otherwise. The chronon powered force field I build around myself allows the bullets to sparkle around my time dome protecting me from the onslaught of gunfire.

Before my shield could wear out, I charge my time blast into a ball of energy and thrust it at the pack of soldiers when my shield is out. The soldiers are blown away spontaneously like a gas leek explosion.

There was no sign of Principle Wells or any other students from Blackwell. Assuming that had made it safely inside the gymnasium and they could probably overhear me fighting for my life against these troops. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that as long as there was team a soldiers securing the gym, no one would get hurt.

I had to take out the remainder soldiers infecting the front courtyard. I time dash from cover to cover using the trees, benches, and photography displays set up in the courtyard.

Once I wipe out every last soldier, I feel another time stutter again. I can see the chopper hovering above campus flying still as an icicle. I know I've entered another time stutter.

Suddenly, I see orange electrical sparks dashing through the area I stand. I begin to think it's more than just something. It's someone who's able to interact with the time stutter. Soldiers perhaps? But how is that possible?

Out of nowhere, they eventually show themselves to be soldiers wearing hazmat suits and gas masks. They also appeared to be wearing harnesses strapped to super electronic gear on their backs that seemed to also them to dash through places. The kind of suits they were wearing and the gear they equipped themselves with allowed them the immunity from getting stuck in stutters.

Once they dashed in front of me and had me in their sights with SMG's in their hands, I dash for cover at my first instinct when they start shooting. However, taking cover wasn't the greatest solution from these guys. The gear they were equipped with gave them the ability to advance on my position by dashing next to me making my cover less than protective. These types of soldiers are more heavily upgraded than the standard types I had been fighting until now.

I knew I had to zig when they zagged once more. I was able to use my time shield with no trouble, but not for the rest of my abilities. I'd try using me time stop on them and they'd just dash out of the stasis fields I spawn. I try using my rewind and even that's less than effective on these elite strikers. I try using my time rush which allows me slow everything down but make me go at super sonic speed. Which was somewhat effective against the strikers, but I needed to be smart about since they would easily catch me using that ability and dash away to their advantage.

Their electrical Chronon Harnesses appeared to be their weaknesses. If I had found a way to disable their harness, I wouldn't only take them out generally, but also leave them frozen in the stutter.

I had three Strikers on me. It wasn't easy shooting them down at first, but the more I learned their moves, the more my strategies evolved. I take out the first striker by puncturing his suit that stuns him. Giving me the chance to shoot the harness and take him down. I take out the second Striker by dashing behind him and shooting the back of this electrical pack attached to his Chronon Harness. I take out the last striker by dash towards him and using my time blast that allegedly pushes him across the courtyard causing him to hit a tree that smashes his Dash Pack and damages his Chronon Harness allowing to get caught in the stutter.

With the Strikers taken care of who were now frozen in the time fracture posed as if they were just shot, I make my towards the parking lot. The time stutter was still active and I assumed it would wear out soon. Sometime soon. I make my way over to the parking lot where I'm supposed to meet Chloe. Unfortunately, this time stutter isn't making her get her ass over here and quicker. I only hoped Chloe would make it back here in one piece soon enough as I was trying to get out of this school in one piece.

I finally reach the parking lot just when the time stutter is released back to continuum. When reality resumes itself again I hear voices on the radio again.

 _"Big Bird to Cage. We've spotted Caulfield in the Car lot near your location. It appears the Striker unit was taken down by her, sir."_

 _"Son of a bitch! This girl doesn't know when to quit! Berkley, take some of your squad out there and finish her ass! The rest of us will take care of these Blackwell shits."_

 _"Yes, sir. Move out people. On me."_

I see the reinforcements emerge out of the gym building where the pool is located and where everyone was gathered. Where's Chloe when you needed her? I just hoped I didn't have to rewind and save her from dying again. As much as I was sick of that, these Chrysalis shits had too made me sick. I held off the reinforcements as much as could until out of nowhere the Calvary appeared in a rusty truck finishing off the last of the soldiers with bullets shot out of a pistol.

"Come on, Max! Get in the truck! We gotta get outta here!"

Chloe had just shot two soldiers from her truck with her one pistol. I wondered if it had been one of David's pistols he had kept in the garage that Chloe would've stolen. I didn't care. All that I cared was that my bluenette lover was a sight for sore eyes. I hop into the truck with the last remaining ammunition in my purse and pistol. I no longer had a rifle or SMG in my hand since I had no more ammo for those weapons.

"Step on it, Chloe! Get us out of here!"

The punk rebel punches her gas peddle has hard as she could racing our way out of campus. I catch my last breath from such a narrow escape from these assholes willing to clip my ass. Chloe's timing had been impeccable enough for my ass barely saved.

"What the fuck happened back their, Max," she asks driving as quickly as she could. "Are those assholes trying to start World War III?"

"I'll tell ya this much, Chloe. Rachel wasn't giving us bull when she spoke of these Chrysalis shits."

I notice something unusual next to my seat in the truck. An AK-47 with some ammo boxes is placed between our seats.

"Hey, where did this gun and ammunition come from? You didn't steel this from David, did you?"

"No, I didn't. Rachel had dropped in before I got here and figured we could use all this."

"Guess that explains how they knew you were coming after me."

"Say what?"

 _"Bravo to Alpha. Caulfield just took off with Price. Do you have visual?"_

 _"Negative, Alpha. We're still in pursuit of Amber at moment. We'll send some of our guys after them if we need to._

"Is that a radio," asks Chloe. "Where'd you get one of those?"

"I stole one from one of the guys after me. I took it so I'd know what they're up to."

 _"Big Bird to Bravo. We've spotted Caulfield and Price headed south of Arcadia Bay. I repeat, south of Arcadia Bay."_

 _"Roger that, Big Bird. Bravo 2 will be moving to their location now."_

"Any chance this is north of Arcadia Bay," I ask stupidly.

We hear the helicopter hovering above the truck where we're driving. These Chrysalis bastards aren't idiots when it comes to directions. Suddenly, Chrysalis vehicles came rampaging down the road in front of us whaling their sirens from a distance.

 _"They're they are! Cut them off! We've got them cornered!"_

"Shit! Now what do we do," exclaimed Chloe.

"Turn left! Turn left!"

Chloe instantly turns her truck into the residential area away from the vehicles. The pack of vehicles included cars with sirens, SUV's, military vans, and armored trucks. Chloe drives the truck as fast as she could attempting to lose the heat.

"Max, it would be a good time as any to use that AK to take some of the heat off our ass."

"You expect me to use this lousy rifle against an army?"

We hear bullets banging against the truck. Knowing that they want to shoot us down.

"There's no time to argue, Max! Lock and load and shoot they're ass!"

I load the rifle as quickly as I could and start shooting a vehicle or two outside my window. Soldiers shoot back out of their vehicles and I take cover inside the truck before the could put a bullet in me again. For the most part, I'm able to hold them off well with my gun and my powers while Chrysalis chases us through residential. When I use my time blast against the pursuing vehicles, it creates a chain reaction the vehicles to crash into one another.

"Damn, Max. That time blast did a real number on those Chrysalis a-holes."

"That's why they call me Super Max."

All of a sudden, an incoming armored van with a mini turret crashes through the yards in the neighborhood in front of the truck and the turret starts unloading on the truck.

"Holy shit!"

"Chloe, get us the fuck out of here!"

Chloe rapidly turns her wheel steering towards the neighborhood yards retreating from the van and making a shortcut across the other side to another road. We drive down the other road as fast as we could before the armored vehicle could catch.

"Holy shit, Max. Where the fuck did he come from?"

"I don't know. Keep driving. He's still on us."

The vehicle eventually shortcuts it way back to us and starts unloading on us again.

"Fuck! Turn, turn, turn!"

We turn over to another shortcut to try and shake off the vehicle again. The van that pursues us in no joke. The turret that's loaded onto it could easily blow us away like a mine attached to the ground.

"Wowser, Chloe. I don't know about you, but Prescott really wants us out of the picture."

"Ya think?"

Once again, the armored vehicle dashes through the lawns and starts spraying the truck with bullets.

"Oh, for fuck sake," shouts Chloe.

This time, I'm able to use my time shield to protect the truck from it's lethal projectiles. Preventing our ride to get heavily damaged from turret. The turret fire then sprinkles around my shield.

"Holy shit, Max! How are you-"

"Turn right! Turn right!"

Chloe makes another break for the lawns shaking the turret van again. Before my shield wore out.

"Holy shit, Max. You can use your shield to protect the truck?"

"Yes I can. Keep driving."

When the van cuts us off again, Chloe does what she needs to. Only this time, we cut across three blocks down the residential area crashing through three fences and get blinded by a laundry clothesline. Though Chloe shakes it off with the windshield wipers and we manage to see the road clearly before we crash into anything.

"You know you don't have to hit every fence," I suggest.

"Do you want to drive," scolds Chloe.

"Do you have insurance?"

"You worry about those Chrysalis fucks. I'll worry about insurance."

The armored van reappears again and I use my time shield to protect the truck. This time when we shake off the Chrysalis vehicle, we get off the residential area and enter the urban area of Arcadia. We come across a roundabout centered by a fountain located on Umbilical Plaza. The van was still onto us, but Chloe needed a direction to go.

"Which way, Max? Which way?"

"Turn right. Turn right."

When Chloe turn the truck right off the roundabout, she immediately stops the truck when there's traffic in the way. Cars were packed on the road we had taken.

"Great," Chloe complained. "Now what do we do?"

The van sees us on the traffic jam and is fifteen feet away from closing in on us. I would use my rewind to perhaps find a different route until I notice an alleyway we could cut across to back on the roundabout before the van rams us down.

"Chloe, turn right here! Right here!"

Chloe hit the gas and steers her vehicle into the alley where we escape from the traffic jam that stopped us in our tracks. She demanded where we would go instead."

"Okay, Max. We need to find another way out of here fast!"

We exit the alley with the van still on our tail and I think fast to find a way to lose the van for good. Another way out of the roundabout catches my eye.

"Chloe, up there!"

"Where?!"

"Drive up those stairs. That may be our only way out of here.

"Up those stairs? Are you fucking mad?!"

"Just get us up there! Now!"

We drive up the stairs that takes us to a bench area to shake off the van for good. People in the are panic and retreat away from out path and we end up driving down a steep hill and off the road.

"Holy fuckballs, Max! We're off course!"

"Just keep driving, Chloe! Drive on those rooftops! We can make it!

There appeared to be rooftops down the steep hill we drove on where we could potentially drive on. The danger of driving off road and on rooftops made Chloe jittery. Understanding that we could get ourselves killed in this matter.

"This was your stupid idea, Max!"

"Just fucking drive!"

"I got this. I got this. I don't got this!"

When we get on the rooftops, Chloe starts getting even more jittery pulling off this dangerous stunt. The truck drives off the roofs and lands on top of a group of expensive cars such as Lamborghinis and Porsches. The impact crushes the cars breaking the glass windows and sets off car alarms. Chloe's truck drove off the cars and back onto the street.

"Fucking A, Max. Let's no do that again. Ever. This truck isn't designed for stunts."

"My stupid idea. I get it. Sorry. Works for me."

 _"Bravo 2 to HQ. We've lost sight of Price and Caulfield. We need a visual ASAP."_

 _"Negative, Bravo 2. We have no visual of the vehicle. Keep searching while you still can."_

"Shit, I don't think they're ever going to find us down here."

"Speaking of down here, this looks like the future sight of Pan Estates."

"What make you say that? Shit!"

Chloe punches her break pad the second a construction area on the road. Road Closed signs are displayed in front of a crane digging through the ground on a wide open hole on the road with construction workers at site as well.

"Shit, now what do we do?"

"Just go around them. There's some dirt road we can drive on. Sorry, new driver here!"

"We're just passing through!"

After apologizing to the workers, we drove around the site on the dirt road. Hopefully, the van hadn't found it's way down here to catch us again. We drive safely past the site and back on paid road.

"Chloe, we got to after Rachel."

"We? We have to go after her?"

"She needs out help, Chloe. We can't just leave her out there on her own while she's being pursued."

"And how do you suppose we could help her?"

"We'll find a way, Chloe. We have to."

"Max, it's suicide. I don't need you getting yourself killed saving her own ass. Even if you do just have the powers to do so."

"You know the cliche, Chloe. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"Oh, give me a break."

"By the way, Chloe. I've got something to tell you. I found something on that book Crosby gave me."

"Do you really think now's the best time for book talk, Max?"

"Just hear me out for one minute. There was something interesting I found. There's this sacred cult or religion that did rituals of some kind. I don't know what but they call themselves the Order of St. Loomis or some shit."

"The Order of St. who?"

"Look, I don't know much about. All I that I was trying to do was figure out who set me up or something. That's all I really care about for now."

"All that I really care about for now is that we get to Rachel, assuming you know what your doing, and hope that van doesn't get back to us anytime soon."

With that said, Chloe completely jinxed it when the van reappeared out of now once again in front of the truck that was now unloading on us.

"Oh, for fuck sake!"

"Chloe, get off the road! Now, now!"

Chloe steers the truck off the road and into a flood wash. Like the chase scene in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Driving through the flood wash might have way to get to Rachel faster. If not a shortcut out of town.

"We just drove into a flood wash, Max. Where's this supposed to take us?"

"Maybe we can get to Rachel faster. Keep driving."

We were now headed straight out of town and into the countryside. When we drive off the flood wash, we're able to see Rachel on her motorbike being pursued by a convoy of Chrysalis vehicles.

"Look, Chloe. Over there. It's Rachel."

"Shit, looks like she does need out help after all."

"Punch it, Chloe. We gotta get to her fast."

In order to get to Rachel's position, we would have to get on dirt path that lead to the road Rachel was being pursued. We end up passing through a chicken farm on the dirt road. There was a flock of chickens in our way. We almost run over them, but the chickens retreat from the incoming truck.

"Sorry about the chickens," I apologize out loud. Let's try not committing road kill, Chloe. Shall we?"

"Shut up and let me drive."

We continue driving past more dirt road and under a bridge Rachel was being chased on. However, there wasn't enough road in the world to keep up with her. We were soon to come across a dead end that stops hear a lake where bridge had crossed.

"We're running out of road, Max. We got to think of something now."

I had spotted a Chrysalis truck with a crane on top that had been hanging over the bridge. Maybe I could use it to get on the convoy and help Rachel.

"Chloe, drive up to the dock. There's a hook or something I can use to get to Rachel."

"Are you kidding me, Max? You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"Just do it! Trust me."

I open the car door next to my seat and position myself outside the truck with door open. Preparing myself to make a jump for it.

"Get me closer, Chloe! I've got to make that jump!"

Chloe drives on the dock with no more or time to lose. I'm cutting it real close as we get closer to the dead end yet closer to the hook.

"This is it, Max! Jump for it! Now!"

She pulled the truck over exactly at the dead end steering it swiftly to the left allowing my chance to jump for it. I jump as high as I could straight out of Chloe's truck and just barely grip my hand on the dangling hook. I hold on as tight as I could with one and then both. While I'm dangling like a fish on a hook on the side of the bridge, I just notice that there's stacks of wood built on my side of the bride. I braced myself for impact.

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit! Oh, shit! OH, SHIT!"

Crashing through the constructed wood lowers the hook connected to the crane of the truck and sends me down on the water. When my feet ski through the water, my feet get wet and now head towards a boat crossing the bridge. I couldn't allow the hook to make me hit the oncoming boat. Before I can however, I climb up the hook saving me from impact right on time.

When the truck crosses the bridge, I'm out of the water with my feet wet and the hook sends me sliding down more dirt and onto the asphalt road. The truck is now towing me like Indiana Jones with his whip attached to a truck in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I could feel my body getting scrapped on the road hanging on to the hook. I had to climb up the chain of the hook so I could hop onto the truck and find a way to help Rachel. I then hear the helicopter approaching the convoy.

 _"Big Bird to Bravo 1. We have visual on Caulfield. She's hanging on the back truck of the convoy. I repeat, the back truck of the convoy. You're clear to engage."_

 _"Affirmative."_

A soldier on the trunk of the crane truck took notice of me hanging by a thread and open fired. I quickly grab my pistol and shoot at him taking him out. I climb up the chain as hard as I could and reach the truck itself. I steal the rifle from the soldier I took out and notice something unique with his gun. It was an M4 attached to a grenade launcher. I could use it to blow away the vehicles. I take cover and shoot a couple of Chrysalis cars and motorbikes with my rifle. There were some armored trucks and humors with turrets and gunners on the turrets took fire on me.

 _"Weapon free everyone! Fire on the bitch!"_

I take out the vehicles with the turrets with my grenade launcher attachment and they just blow up like firecrackers.

 _"Wowser, this is like Call of Duty,"_ I say to myself. _"From Indiana Jones to John Rambo."_

I hold off the assholes trying to murder me. But not for long.

 _"Big Bird, Caulfield is taking out our guys! Requesting assistance!"_

" _Roger that, Bravo. Weapons hot."_

The chopper comes closer to my position and guns start firing on me too. With the bird in the air aiding air support for these guys, it was going to more than just an rifle to handle a chopper. The bullets firing from the chopper rain down on my ass and damage the truck. Whoever kind of jack ass would try and fire on my along with his own guys. Then chopper fires rockets down on me. Without thinking twice, I use my time rush to hop onto the front truck before the rockets blow up the other.

I take out the soldier on the other truck and find two RPG's on board. Now we were talking. I carry one of the rocket launchers which is heavy as hell for eighteen-year-old photography hipster who had just shot more ammo out of a gun than film out of a camera. And now I was about to fire rockets. Fucking rockets.

I lift up the rocket launcher with all my might and aim carefully at the enemy chopper. The chopper only then sprays more bullets on my ass causing me to accidentally fire the rocket and miss. I almost blow my myself up land on my hip carry a big ass RPG. There was only one RPG left with one rocket to spare. I pick up the other rocket launcher and squat down on my knee to aim better. The second I have the chopper in sight, I make it count and fire away. And then the rocket hits the chopper rendering it out of control.

 _"Mayday, mayday! This is Big Bird! I'm hit, I'm hit! We're going down!"_

The chopper came tumbling down the road like a bowling ball when it hit the ground. Before it blew up, it came rolling down over the truck I was on and I use my time rush to jump out of the truck before the crashing choppers hits the truck and explodes with it. I land on the top of the last remaining vehicle of the convoy. A Chrysalis SUV with a passenger and a driver. I hijack the SUV by throwing the driver out, shooting the passenger, and hopping straight with my seat buckled. I also throw out the dead passenger, as well.

I'm now driving the SUV and Rachel's dead ahead. I had hoped Chloe was able to take care of herself when I had abandoned her truck struggling with my life attempting to save Rachel. I hear more voice on the radio again as I'm approaching Rachel on her bike.

 _"HQ to all Chrysalis units, Big Bird is down. I repeat, Big Bird and Bravo 1 are KIA."_

 _"Big Bird and Bravo 1 are KIA,"_ yelled Captain Cage on the radio. _"How's that fucking possible?!"_

 _"We believe Caulfield did away with them, Captain. She's now closing in on Amber's position."_

 _"Son of a bitch! How does one stupid little teenage shit do all this! Alright, I need at least one or more Chrysalis vehicle dispatched to Caulfield and Amber's position right now! No more excuses until they're confirmed KI fucking A!"_

 _"Affirmative, Captain. We're sending dispatch right away."_

I drive next to Rachel on her left side as I finally keep up with her. I roll down the passenger window to shout at her while she was driving her bike.

"Rachel, I'm here!"

"Max, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

"Hop on," we yell to one another at the same time."

"Jump in, Rachel! I've got you!"

"Just get on my damn bike!"

"Just get in the damn car!"

"I'm faster! Max, look out!"

Not a split second later, an armored Chrysalis vehicle with a turret hits the SUV by my side and the impact sends me rolling down off the road. The crash comes to a complete holt and the car is now upside down. I'm now hanging from my seat upside down and my seat belt restrains me falling off the seat and killing myself in the crash.

It's pitch black inside with the car flipped around. The dashboard sparks electricity and burst into flames. The car was catching on fire and was about to explode. I unbuckle my seatbelt and plummet onto the roof of the car. The front row of the car was now burning and I needed to get out fast. I try opening the car door to the passenger seat, but it wouldn't budge. Now almost the car was burning up and I could feel the heat about to incinerate me. I try kicking the door open and budges just a little. I keep kicking it until it can break open. I hear voices outside who I bet are soldiers investigating the crash.

"Shit, there's no way she could've survived that," said the soldier outside.

I pull out my gun before breaking the door open. At last, I kick the door one last time and I'm broken free.

"She's alive! Kill her!"

I quickly leap out of the burning vehicle landing on my stomach and aim at the two soldiers in front of me. They do fire a few bullets at me, but I take them out before they take me. Once I kill the two soldiers, the armored van which was the same that pursued me and Chloe reappeared. It was also the one that had pushed me off the road, too. Not a moment too soon, Rachel raced her way back to me on her bike in time before the armored vehicle could do anything.

"Max, take my hand!"

I immediately get back on my feet, take Rachel's hand and hop on her bike sitting behind. Now the van with the turret was now pursuing me and Rach. We race away from the armored van on the bike now moving faster than it was chasing me and Chloe in the truck.

"Max, take this!"

"What's this?! An Uzi?!"

"Just shoot that fucker! Take him out!"

After firing an RPG, I was now firing an Uzi. I shoot at the van chasing us against our will with it's turret firing back. The bullets I was shooting only did minimal damage the enemy van. The van chases us off road and into a lumber mill. We were now entering an industrial area occupied by workers. Getting past the mill, we now racing our way through the Arcadia Bay Shipping Docks. We run down an area filled with shipping containers and cranes as the workers retreat themselves away from the hot pursuit.

My bullets disable the turret on the van which can no longer fire back at us. Now the van was going to ram us over as it picked up said. I ordered Rachel to go faster which the bike could not. I give the Chrysalis van everything I got by spraying bullets all over it's engine heavily damaging it and eventually blowing the engine completely out. Causing the vehicle to loose control and roll around like a ball.

Me and Rachel are about to hit a diesel truck with a kerosene trailer and Rachel power slides her bike underneath the trailer to prevent impact. Only to allow the rolling Chrysalis van to combust into the trailer instead and simultaneously create a massive explosion destroying the van once and for all. Like a Michael Bay action movie.

Rachel pulls the bike over for brief moment to view the explosive scene. The explosion is so huge, it attracts the attention of several workers. Me and Rachel stare at the blazing sight letting out laughter from such a narrow thrill ride of a pursuit. There was luckily no one in the big rig that just exploded with the Chrysalis van. Which meant we didn't kill any truck drivers with the bastards that tempted to ram us. I sigh.

"Hell of a ride, Rachel. But I think it's about time we get the fuck off."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Now what do we do?"

"Now we get to my lodge. It's a place where me, you, and Chloe can lay low. Let's go."

We drive away from the scene leaving the workers with their accident. Now that the shit show that just hit the fan was over, Rachel takes me to her hideout. Assuming Chloe made it out of this alive, I text her to meet me and Rachel to the place we were going to lay low. Driving into the late afternoon sun.

 **Note: Well, I hope it was worth the wait folks. Took some time, didn't it? I had so many ideas coming up with this chapter, I had to scrap a few just to get it over with. There were some sequences inspired by the chase scene in Uncharted 4 where Nathan Drake has to drive his way through the streets and fight is way through a convoy to save his brother Sam. It took 28 pages to write this chapter. This has been the biggest and most longest chapter I've ever written yet. One I've been waiting to write for a long time.**

 **Needless to say, don't get mad at me if I've jumped the shark with my Life is Strange fan fic. Only two more chapters to go for this episode. The last two chapters will definitely be shorter than this one.**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**


	14. Then

Chapter 14 Then

Chloe

April 19th, 2013

6:55 AM

Arcadia Bay, Oregon

AB Harbor

After barely loosing the cops from the carnival, me and Rachel drive back into town as it was going on seven in the morning. I'd assume my Mother and Step-Fucker would find out I snuck by now. The only significance of that would probably be a text message from either of them asking where I've gone. When we approach the docks of Arcadia, I tell Rachel to pull over.

"Rachel, pull over."

"What?"

"I said, pull over."

"Chloe, come on. Can't it-"

"Pull over now!"

Rachel pulls the bike over to the harbor located near my Mother's diner and parks it. I'm officially pissed with Rachel for nearly getting us busted again and start scolding her for it.

"For fuck sake, Rachel. You almost got us in trouble again!"

"Hey, that's not fair, Chloe. I should've known better not to go there if the cops would arrive."

"Yeah, you should've. What's also unfair is not having the maturity to know that would happen. That is one of many reasons we get in trouble."

"Excuse me, Ms. Price. There are times when you get yourself into trouble, you know. It's even more unfair when you take it out on me all the time. I try to do something nice for you despite the trouble. So don't talk to me about maturity, just be grateful I took you someplace amazing."

"You're beginning to sound a lot like my parents now. My Step-Fucker especially."

"Oh, poor fucking me. I'm beginning to sound like Step-Fucker giving you a lecture. What's new?"

"Yeah, what is new. It's not like I'm the High Honor Roll celebrity of Blackwell bringing the Vortex Club down."

"Oh, no. You're a fucking rebel who got herself expelled from Blackwell. You're just a stoner feeling sorry for herself because everyone bails on her. Such as dead Willy who left her all alone."

"Don't you dare fucking bring my Dad up! You hear me?! How fucking dare you!"

"Just admit, Chloe! You don't love me, do you? You never like the things I do for you because I get you in trouble all time. Isn't it?"

"Rachel, as much as like hanging out and sneaking out with you all the time, I'd hate for both of to get busted again. What really bothers me is that you always tend to get me in trouble on purpose."

"Well I don't get you in trouble on purpose. You know I wouldn't. I did my hardest not to when all I wanted to do was just have some fun with you. And we did. Assuming the cops wouldn't arrive for our troubles."

"Well they did arrive for our troubles. You knew they would be there. And you knew we would get handcuffed and thrown back in police holding again for breaking into a place we weren't supposed to be. Do you know how naive that sounds?"

"You want naive, Chloe, how bout not having the nerve to talk me out of sneaking out with you if you were too afraid of getting in trouble again. Let alone just saying no."

"Oh fuck you, Rachel. I think you just don't have the nerve to do nothing at all. Problem solved."

Rachel is almost insulted by what I say and tries saying something back, but remains silent. I turn away from her with my hands crossed officially fed up with blaming each other for our shenanigans. I was more worried the police would call my home and inform my parents about what we did. Best case scenario, they don't.

The sun is rising and my parents would probably be up by now finding out I left the house without saying anything. I had spent five years of my life being a rebellious teenager committing vandalism and getting stoned. All because of my Father's passing, Max's departure, and my Mother's marriage to David that made me who I am.

Me and Rachel had three years together in Arcadia. Just to make my life not so miserable. I knew Rachel meant well, but she had to think about the consequences of every move we made before doing something we weren't supposed to do. I didn't want her making my life hell the way David always had. Or otherwise the way I alone had. Whatever the case, if Max couldn't be here to show if she still cared, Rachel was always the one who did. The question was, would we always be together?

"If you had to look me in the and tell me your a good friend who knows how to be a good friend, would you swear on my life on that," I ask.

"Can't say I wouldn't," replied Rachel. "Perhaps we overstayed our welcome at the carnival and that's what made the cops come. You know I'd do anything to make you the happiest person in Arcadia Bay. When I graduate from Blackwell, we'll be living large in LA getting high and getting laid. I'll be the next Kim Kardashian on the red carpet and you can be my celebrity manager like we always dreamed of."

"I think your missing the point, Rachel. I'm more worried about not doing illegal shit than I am living the dream in LA."

"Says the girl who hits up the bong in her room which is a fine example of illegal shit."

"For fuck sake, Rachel. Are you even listening to me?"

"No, Chloe. It's who needs to listen to me. I'd hate to sound like Step-Douche, but maybe he was right about you. He always has. There are times when you blame people so unfairly for own actions-"

"This was not my action, Rachel. It was yours. Even when Step-Douche tries and lays us down, you always step up for me. This sneak-out we just pulled off is on you. The cops rolling out on us is on you."

"I'm sorry, I believe I heard a we somewhere. There's a we now and you're saying it's on me?"

"Aye, yai, yai, Rachel. Bottom line, good friends don't get others into trouble!"

"And good friends don't blame others for their own actions, Chloe! Now grow the fuck up and start looking on the bright side for once despite our troubles. Just be lucky we didn't get busted. Better yet, we'd be lucky if the cops didn't find out who we were and tell our parents. How does that sound?"

"Sounds to me you rely to much on luck, Rachel. It just may only get us into more trouble than it actually seems. Obi-Wan Kenobi once said that in his experience there's no such thing as luck. I too have very little experience with luck."

"We're taking advice from movie characters now? I mean come on, Chloe. Sometimes I don't think you take anyone seriously for those you try and provoke your life with self-discipline. Even me. You got broken Mom, a dead Dad, a barbaric Step-Dad, a bad reputation from your former education at Blackwell, and an asinine attitude of yours you never let go of."

"Shut the fuck up! That - right there - is exactly what friends don't say to each other! Right there!"

"Then I guess we're no friends at all, are we?! You could've prevented all your troubles if you would've just for once stopped feeling sorry for yourself and started getting your shit together. And you know it."

I take a breath to calm my anger away and stare at Rachel in the eye. Frankly, Rachel had always tried being a supportive friend over the years since my Father died and Max left Arcadia Bay for Seattle. Nevertheless, I kept running away from my pain. The more I kept running, the more I kept suffering.

I had not spoken to Max in years. She never wrote to me, never sent me postcards, never called, never face-timed, never anything. Since then, I never imagined that she even cared. I assumed she just moved on with her life knowing she may never see me again. How I missed the good old days of me and Max living happily together in Arcadia Bay. At least someone came to me one day and started making my life proud. That was Rachel Amber.

"I've always wanted to ask you, Chloe. But I never found a reason to. What if that Max Caulfield comes back to Arcadia hoping to find you. And what if you're not there and she regrets leaving you."

"What are you saying, Rachel? Why would she come back to Arcadia anyway?"

"I don't know. Let's just say we do start a new life in LA and Max finds out we left town. Whatever the reason she comes back, I know she may want to see again. I'm pretty sure she hasn't forgotten about you. Even if she hasn't tried communicating with you for the past five years."

"There must be a better reason you're asking me this question."

"Well, let's just say what if I'm not here. Not that I eventually won't, but what if I'm actually not. What if I just disappeared and never came back. What would you do if that ever happened. What would you do?"

"You're asking me this like this is the last day we'll see each other. Why Rachel? Why does this question sound like a big deal to you?"

"Chloe, listen carefully. It doesn't matter why I'm asking you this. What matters is that if something happens to me, know this. I'll always love you, Chloe. Nothing will ever stop me from loving you. And even if I'm not there, I will never abandon you."

These were Max's exact words before leaving me. Did this mean Rachel was leaving me too? Now she was starting to scare me.

"Rachel..."

"Chloe, I know you're confused, but you must understand. I have unfinished business with someone. That someone is Jefferson. As I've told you earlier, he had made an offer I couldn't refuse. He had always looked up to me and wanted to make my dreams come true. So if I'm not around, promise me this. Promise me we'll always be friends and I'll be sure to keep that promise. Promise?"

Rachel holds her pinky up close waiting for my pinky to holds hers. And I do.

"Promise," I say squeezing our pinkies. "So what do we tell my parents if they find out what we did."

"We tell them the truth," she replied. "We wouldn't have a lot of choice really. We say what we have to."

"You've got to admit, Rachel. You've been the best thing that's ever happened to me these past three years together. You really have. And I'll be damned if you go away like Max did. Now that we've made our promise, we'll always be together. Right?"

"Right."

 **Note: Only one more chapter to go folks! Can't believe I'm almost done with this episode! Now in this flashback, Rachel is not saying she's actually leaving Arcadia. She's saying something to Chloe just to prepare for the worst. Because Rachel is fearing for the worst. Frankly, you'll understand more in the future of this story.**

 **Just for a heads up, prepare yourselves for the last chapter. For Max is about to learn what the price she has to pay looks like in the final chapter of this episode. Bring a box of tissue just incase so you can come prepared. Maybe a bowl of ice cream, too. LOL**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**

 **P.S. A moment of silence for remembering 9/11.**


	15. Surrender

Chapter 15 Surrender

Max

April 13th, 2014

2:32 PM

10 miles from Arcadia Bay

Kettle Lake Lodge

Rachel drives me ten miles away from Arcadia Bay on her bike all the way to a lodge next to Kettle Lake. I wasn't going to judge Rachel's circumstances for laying low, but a cabin near a lakeside seemed legitimate enough to go into hiding from Chrysalis. Rachel stopped her bike and parked it by the gate.

"Here we are," said Rachel. "Kettle Lake Lodge. The place where we'll never be harmed."

"This is supposed to be our safe house," I ask.

"Good of a place as any, Max," she answered. "Come on. Let's get inside."

We get inside the lodge and wait for Chloe to arrive. Assuming she made it out okay. Inside the lodge, there's a living room with a television set, a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom on the top floor, and mounted animals on the walls with paintings. The typical kind of decorations a lodge would have.

"And here we are. The safe house. Now...we wait for Chloe."

"Do you mind explaining to me what fuck was that about back there," I scold. "Do you?"

"Like I said, Max. These people don't fuck around. I told you before."

"Yeah, well you didn't make sure I came prepared. I barely slipped past those fuckers with my life! I shot down a shit load of Chrysalis goons at Blackwell! Me and Chloe almost got our asses mowed down by a truck with mini turret! I blew up a fucking helicopter not knowing what I was in for because of you!"

"Max, stop talking! I warned you to take me seriously. And this is what not taking me seriously looks like."

"What not taking you seriously looks like? I couldn't care more if I had to bring a gun with me to school or what not. You knew those soldiers were coming for me and you sooner than I thought. We could've had a plan or something and just decide to give all this intel bull."

"Max, I'm sorry. Okay? You're right I should've spent more time preparing you than informing."

"Yeah, tell that to Chloe."

Not a split second to soon, I jinx Chloe's presence as soon as she arrives and walks in slamming the door shut.

"Well what do ya know? Speak of the devil," I said.

Chloe is even more furious when she comes power walking her way towards Rachel like she did when she thought she had seen a ghost. One things for sure, Chloe is easily high tempered when it comes to being super emotional. She feast her eyes on Rachel angrily prepared to scold her for her lack of empathy for others.

"What the fuck was that," Chloe burst out yelling. "You knew those fuckers would come us!"

"Chloe, just listen," begins Rachel.

"No, you listen! I am done with your bullshit. You come back to me with the same problem Max has and leave us in the crossfire where would've been killed. And you didn't tell us."

"Chloe, you have every right to be furious at me right now and so does Max. I really wish I could've prepared the both of you for this, but I didn't."

"Fuck you, Rachel. Do even take me seriously? Did you even love me or care about me all that time? Or was it all just a pretentious act to hoodwink me into falling in love with you just so you could get in bed with Frank?"

"Jesus Luiz, Chloe. Can't you see that there are important things at stake here than me break up with you?"

"Oh, no. That's problem now, isn't it? First you dump me for Frank, then you get kidnapped to some dark room by the worst people I ever knew in town, and then they tell you to leave town and never come back just so you would bail on me for months and get famous in LA, now you leave us to die with a private military that almost destroyed Blackwell property and tried to kill us with enough fire power and weaponry to start World War III. Do you have any idea what me and Max had been through the week her powers first evolved and how many deaths I've cheated because of her? Do you?"

"No I don't, actually. But, go on. Say it. If willing to spit it out of your bitchy little mouth, I'm all ears."

"Well, then, here it goes. I try and bribe Nathan to pay off my debt from Frank and the next thing I know he pulls a gun on me and shoots me in the stomach. The next death after that, I almost get run over by a train getting stuck in it's tracks. The next death after, Jefferson shoots me in the fucking head right next to your fake ass corpse! And where were you when all that happened, huh?! Where were you?!"

"You know something, Rachel," I interfere. "For once Chloe is right. Not only did I save Chloe from death constantly and destroy a town for her, but me and her both let our lives for you. Jefferson had too kidnapped me and nearly drugged me to death if it weren't for David. I almost let Chloe die by the hands of Dickbag the Asshole. The people who died during the storm would be alive by now if that actually happened. What if I actually did let that happen? Would you even miss Chloe? Would you even regret leaving her as I would've regretted letting her die?!"

"Okay, Max. You've got me confused. What do you mean people would be alive if Chloe wasn't?"

"Maybe you haven't noticed, Rachel, but I'm being indicted of the deaths caused by the tornado incident. When that tornado was about to strike the town, that's when I came to terms of my powers actually being the effects of Arcadia Bay becoming ground zero of a supernatural weather disaster. Chloe thought I could prevent all of that by letting her die in a filthy ass bathroom. I rejected that decision and look how that turned out. Now you're telling me I was set up. By whom I may ask? That's what I figured. Needless to say, some lady from the District Attorney lost her daughter in the storm while me and Chloe were living happily ever after. How do you feel now?"

"She's right you know, Rachel," said Chloe. "Just wonder how devastating it is to lose the love of your life as it is take the responsibility of hundreds of deaths. Maybe you could've ratted out Jeffershit and Nathan the moment they spared you instead of faking your death and running away from Arcadia. Perhaps Max wouldn't need a reason to have powers like you do. You're even more selfish than I thought."

"Says the girl who was always more selfish than she thought."

"Fuck you, Rach. Max has blood on her hands. Not only the blood she spilled from that fiasco she started at Blackwell all the way to that convoy, but blood she spilled for me because of that storm she made for herself just to keep me alive. She's probably killed even more people than she could ever imagine in a lifetime."

"So what are you really getting pissed of at me for? Leaving you without saying shit or making you and Max go through hell? What are you really blaming me for?"

"Both. That's what I'm blaming you for."

Rachel scoffed.

"Same old Chloe. I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."

"You think this is some kind of a joke to you, Rachel? Huh? Ever since you first disappeared, I always thought you never loved me anymore. Even if you just did actually die, my tears wouldn't mean anything. Would they? Sometimes I think your real joke to me. You know that?"

"Sometimes I think you're too busy feeling sorry for yourself and accusing people of your motives then actually listening to someone for once. Even me."

"Don't you dare talk to me about feeling sorry for myself. I think Max has done so much better for me than anyone else has in a million years. Not just saving my life all the time with her power, but actually making me a better person. I must wonder what you did with your power all that time we were together. What did you ever benefit with your power?"

"You know what, Chloe, I'm going to admit it. My powers are the reason I was the Blackwell princess. I used it to manipulate people, to cheat on test, get good grades, to win everything, you name it. You're absolutely right, Chloe. I'm a real selfish little bitch. Aren't I? After five years split apart from Max, she finally returns to you and becomes your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You must really love her."

"Yeah, I do. I've actually loved her more than I ever loved you. Even if she just did leave me after all those years, I knew she hadn't forgotten about me. How hard was it to just stay out of my life pretending you were dead. My life would be so much better if had just done that for me."

"Chloe Price, don't you fucking say that. I'm doing the both of you a favor and you're doing is talking shit and telling me to stay out of your life."

"You call this a favor? All you do is just talk bullshit and never adapt to anything. Which is what almost got me and Max killed."

"That's not fair, Chloe!"

"Fuck you!"

"Enough! Both of you!" I intervene. "Chloe, let me talk to Rachel for just one minute."

"Whatever," she replied.

"Rachel, you knew how Chloe would feel. You knew running away was not going to solve anything. You knew Chrysalis was coming after me sooner than I expected. And you knew Blackwell was the last place I should've been to begin with. I not only put myself in danger, I put the whole school in jeopardy of my fugitiveness. Maybe even the whole town. Chloe is right. There's much you could've done to protect us more. It's bad enough I had to extinguish hundreds of lives to let Chloe. Now I've caused even more bloodshed killing a bunch of Chrysalis troopers during their assault on Blackwell and beyond."

"Max, Chrysalis would've found us no matter what," Rachel assured. "And you may be right. You were too exposed under the radar when stayed at Blackwell. There really was so much I would've done. I digress."

"So admit it then. You admit your mistake. You can admit your incompetence to me, but you can't admit it to Chloe. Can you?"

"You're beginning to sound a lot like Chloe, Max. Either Chloe's poisoned your mind with her spoiled inquires or because of the fact that you've got more history with her than I do, you think you can just side with her all the time. And you know what, you've got every right to."

Rachel turned to Chloe and sighed.

"Turns out Max is more than just a friend, isn't she Chloe? You have feelings for her don't you? You've had feelings for from the very beginning before you even knew me. I still remember how obsessed you used to be with her you know. That's how I could tell."

Chloe stood there remaining calm, but still pissed. She stood there in silence for a second or two before words were spat from her mouth.

"The moment you showed up on my lawn on Friday," she began. "I thought back to that day you told me to prepare for the worst. Was this what you spoke of? Was this what I was supposed to be prepared for?"

"I wish I knew the answer to that question, Chloe, but I don't. I really don't."

"Of course you don't. You never know shit. You know what, we're done with you. From now on, you stay away from Max. You stay away from me. If I ever catch with her again, I'll turn you in to those Chrysalis bastards myself. I mean it. Nothing is going to divide me from Max ever again. Nothing."

 _"HQ to Caulfield. Come in Caulfield. This is Chrysalis HQ. On behalf of Sean Prescott's orders, please respond."_

I still had the radio I stole from an unconscious trooper back at Blackwell holstered on my pants. The three of us stare at the radio the second we heard the voice from HQ. I hold on to the radio as soon as another voice is spoken through.

 _"HQ to Caulfield. We were informed you had stolen one of our radios. We know you can hear us. Please acknowledge. Over."_

I glance at Chloe and Rachel with worried looks on our faces. Unsure of what to do. Should we ignore them of should we cooperate?

 _"Max Caulfield, this Captain Clayton Cage. Chrysalis Special Forces. You are to reply immediately. Over."_

"What should we do," I ask.

"I don't know," replied Chloe. "We got to say something. They know we can hear them."

"Where did you get that radio anyways," asked Rachel.

 _"Max Caulfield. This is Sean Prescott speaking. I am officially more pissed off than I've ever been. I suggest we get a response from you this instant, missy."_

"I hear you loud and clear, Mr. Prescott," I respond on the radio. "What do you want?"

 _"I must say, Caulfield, that I'm disgraced with actions on my campus today. Let alone other wild stunts you performed on my men who chased you across town. And none of that will go unpunished. No siree. So here's the punishment I'm handing out. You're to turn one of yourselves in immediately or we come after you and make you."_

"What do you mean one of ourselves?"

 _"I'm giving you the option to either surrender yourself or Rachel Amber to Chrysalis in my name. It's that simple. You have one hour to decide. Whoever you choose, meet us at Town Hall. It's either you or Amber. The choice is yours."_

I glance back at Chloe and Rachel with the same look on our faces. This was it for us. I was going to get it now. In one hour, either me or Rachel were going to discover what it meant for us to be quantum terrorist. The question was, who would take the honor. My heart began to race and Chloe shook head beginning to forbid me from surrendering.

"Max, no. No way. No way I'm letting you do this."

"Chloe...I - I don't know what to say. But I think I have to do this."

"Don't you say that to me, Max. We sore on our lives never to abandon each other ever again. And now you want to break that vow to me?"

"Let me do it," said Rachel.

"What?"

"Max, Chloe, let me do it. Let me surrender to them. It should be me. Not her."

"Oh, goodie. Now I have another person who'd like to bail on me."

"I'm not bailing on you. I go surrender to them now, I'd be doing it for you and Max. Only because I know how much Max means to you."

"No, you do not know how much she means to me. No matter which one of you surrender, what if it's a trap? What if they still want you dead? What if they're trying to lure you in so they could kill one of you? Are we really willing to take that risk?"

"Chloe, this is it now," I say. "One way or another they're going to bring my actions to justice. We have no more time to debate this. We got to make a decision now or we're all dead."

"She's right, Chloe," said Rachel. "We brought this on ourselves and we now have to pay. There is to much at stake right now to worry about how much we mean to each other."

"Rachel, we can't make this decision," whined Chloe.

"Yes, Chloe. Yes we can make this decision. And we're going to make it right now."

 **X/SQUARE/LM - SURRENDER MAX**

 **B/CIRCLE/RM - SURRENDER RACHEL**

"Well, what's it going to be," asked Chloe.

"Chloe...I'm...I'm so sorry, but I'm going."

"Max, how could you?"

"Chloe, just keep your mouth closed for one minute and listen to me. Whatever happens to after this, right after I surrender, promise you'll find the fuckers who set me up as Rachel says. I gave you the opportunity to live. Now is the time to return the favor. And now is the time for me to face the consequences. Just please find out who set me up soon or knows what they'll do to me after this."

"Max, don't do this to me," said Chloe beginning to sob. "How are we supposed to find out who set you up? How can you even have the balls to turn yourself in to the people who tried to kill you?"

I quickly press my lip against Chloe's. This was now my goodbye before surrendering to Chrysalis. My eyes start to get wet from emotion. I couldn't believe I was doing. Only an ignorant could ever let Rachel take the fault for actions. The consequences of my crimes was breaking the oath I swore to never abandon Chloe again. I take a deep breath and say one last thing before walking out the door and signing my arrest warrant.

"I love you, Chloe. I'm so sorry it has to be this way. But there's no easy way out this time. I have to stay strong enough to accept my punishment. And Chloe Price, as long as you keep your promise finding out who set me up, we have not abandoned each other. Not yet. Goodbye, Chloe. I'll always love you."

"Max, don't do this to me! I love you!"

It took me a whole hour to get to Town Hall by bus. Where Chrysalis forces were waiting to apprehend me. I put my hands above my head approaching the troops and prepared to surrender. The trooper aim their guns towards me and start blustering.

"Freeze!"

"Stay right where you are!"

"Don't move!"

"On your knees, Caulfield! Now!"

I do as I'm told and soldiers grabs me by my arms and locks my wrists together handcuffs. The cuffs restraining me hurt like hell. Prescott and Captain Cage approach me while a soldier seizes me.

"Congratulations, Ms. Caulfield. You're now a criminal," said Prescott.

"You gave us one hell of a shit show," said Cage. "Take her down to maximum security at Abyss 81."

"Yes, sir," replied the soldier restraining me. "Move it, Caulfield."

"Cage to HQ. Caulfield as been apprehended. We're giving her a new home in Abyss 81

located in Central Oregon."

 _"Good work, Cage. We'll inform Derrick Crosby of her status, momentarily."_

The soldiers escort me to a van where they secure me and take me to where they lock me away. I had asked myself what they were going to do to me next. Prescott had warned me that I would be prosecuted for my treachery. Which was likely the next thing to happen. I get inside to back of the van with other soldiers. They shut the doors and drive me away in convoy of other vehicles as the sirens came whaling along with it. I was now heading for some special kind of prison made for me where I would be imprisoned. Soon the convoy had left Town Hall and eventually out of Arcadia Bay. Away from my home.

Back at Blackwell, there were ambulances and fire trucks scattered around campus. With paramedics and fire men treating the soldiers I took down. Along with Chrysalis troops securing the staff and students to safety. Many students were in shock of what had occurred outside the gymnasium where they evacuated.

Warren sat next to Brooke in the courtyard packed with paramedics carrying soldiers on stretchers or in body bags. Kate walked over to where Victoria, Taylor, and Courtney were located. Seeing how Victoria was stressed out about the catastrophic day at Blackwell. Kate had forgiven her about how she treated her and gave Victoria a sorrowful look. Victoria had done her best to move on with her life throughout the months without Nathan. And now things were getting worse for her.

Principle had spoken to Prescott with his limousine parked in the parking lot on campus. Arguing with him about going behind his back ordering the soldiers to harm Max on the school grounds. Which had now left the students enraged about the incident.

Captain Cage had paid Chloe and her parents a visit with a Lieutenant he brought along with at her home. Cage and his Lieutenant were questioning Chloe with David and Joyce in the living room about her involvement with Max's escape from the Chrysalis forces.

Chloe had done her best to justify her actions despite her parents being uptight. Cage had left Chloe with a warning to stay out of their business and never get involved with again before they left.

Back in Seattle, the two District Attorneys Burke and Karen had paid my parents a visit at their house. Informing them of their daughter's actions. They were not only less than pleased about what they had to hear, they were shocked and confounded.

My Mother was the most hysterical about what she heard from the two attorneys. My Father was not as hysterical, but not as pleased either. The DA was now officially prepared to prosecute my crimes in the name of Sean Prescott himself.

Frank was still hanging around by his caravan located on the beachfront of Arcadia with Pompidou. Smoking weed with his cigar. Pompidou had barked over at something. Frank took notice of what his dog had been barking at and saw girl on a motorbike parking it from a distance here Frank was standing. He glanced further at sight and began to recognize who the girl was.

It was none other than Rachel Amber herself. His long lost love. It felt like eternities since he had slept with his blonde broad in his mobile home. Frank let out a shocking expression on his face as he couldn't believe Rachel was still alive all this. Rachel herself gave him a big smile on her face to show her how she actually missed her boyfriend, as well.

In Portland, Crosby had stood in his office at the Chrysalis building overlooking the city though the big glass window behind his desk. Drinking a glass of whiskey in hand and the sunset beam through the window.

He had received the message from HQ via his email informing him of my apprehension. It was up to him now to take the responsibility of defending my crimes.

I sat inside the van I was being transported in. Along with the soldiers inside securing me. I couldn't believe what I just pulled. This was almost the same kind of scenario me and Chloe were in when Arcadia Bay was in turmoil. The same kind of choice to make that's irreversible in that matter. I knew it had to be me. I knew I was the only person who had to take the burden of my treason.

I know who I am and I know my Chloe. I let her live once. I let her live twice and so on. I knew she would do whatever it took to get me out of my position. It was now all up to Rachel and Chloe to adapt for me.

When Chloe was through with the discussion with her parents and Cage, she sat outside in the yard on the swing set me and her played on when we were young. Smoking her pot while on her phone texting Rachel.

 **Rachel: I got to see Frank and explained everything to him. He has pissed at first the way you were pissed but I managed to calm him down anyhow.**

 **Rachel: Prescott had declared martial law on Arcadia with the help of Chrysalis. We have to be cautious.**

 **Rachel: I know you're still pissed off at me right now but if we're going to find out who really caused that storm we must do it together. For u and for Max.**

 **Chloe: Then what r we waiting for. Lets do this!**

Rachel still may have been Chloe's distrusted ex-girlfriend, but she knew she had to work as a team to help me get out of my position. Just how me and Chloe worked together to find Rachel herself. It was not over for me yet. It was just the beginning.

In the heart of the Chrysalis building, stood a project waiting to be assembled down in special projects. The source of the project was a countermeasure stored inside a glass room. Waiting to be initiated. The name of the project was called Project Elysium.

Next time on Life is Strange...

Rachel and Chloe walk into a secret lab hidden behind the whine cellar in Prescott Manor. Where answers await.

"Whoa, what is this joint," Chloe asks herself.

Max is now being transported to the Arcadia Bay Courthouse to stand trial for her crimes.

Rachel and Chloe make a daring escape from Prescott Manor. Fighting their way through Chrysalis guards and Prescott security.

Max now arrives at the courthouse. Overhearing a crowd posted in front it. With an open line in between for Max to be escorted through.

"The trial of Arcadia Bay versus Max Caulfield is now in session."

 **End of Episode 2!**

 **Note: So how thought-provoking is this fiction going so far, huh? Stay tuned for Episode 3. This fiction is only going to get even bigger one episode at a time! Will Max win her freedom? Will Rachel and Chloe find out who was really behind the storm? Find out in Life is Strange Season 2 Episode 3 Quantum Crisis!**

 **I would like to thank Xemtlenc on this site and everyone other follower on this story for all their support and for Xemtlenc alone for suggesting a good voice actress for Rachel Amber. As well as an ending song for this episode. The is "Victoria Falls" by Anadel.**

 **The way I had foreshadowed that project at the end was the same way Season 1 Episode 2 foreshadowed the Dark Room. There is so much to occur throughout the future of this fiction. You all just might love every minute of it! If you have any theories or predictions of what's next to come, write them down in the reviews!**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**

 **Life is Strange After the Storm**

 **Episode 2 Time is Power**

 **Voice Cast**

 **Max Caulfield... ...Hannah Telle**

 **Chloe Price... ...Ashly Burch**

 **Rachel Amber... ...Erin Yvette**

 **Warren Graham... ...Carlos Luna**

 **Kate Marsh... ...Dayeanne Hutton**

 **Victoria Chase... ...Dani Knights**

 **Joyce Price... ...Cissy Jones**

 **David Madsen... ...Don McManus**

 **Frank Bowers... ...Daniel Bonjour**

 **Derrick Crosby... ...Peter Jessop**

 **Sean Prescott... ...Keith Szarabajka**

 **Raymond Wells... ...Eric Morgan Stuart**

 **Karen Carter... ...Rebecca Henderson**

 **Burke Johns... ...Julian Gamble**

 **Written and edited by**

 **WickDaLine**

 **Based on the Characters by**

 **Christian Devine**

 **Special Thanks to**

 **Dontnod**

 **Remedy**

 **Michel Koch**

 **Luc Baghadoust**

 **Sam Lake**

 **Christian Devine**

 **AjaxKnight**

 **AlphaOfAlphas**

 **Xemtlenc**

 **GrumpyCat42**

 **TheRealDerpina**

 **and you!**

 **Disclaimer**

 **I don't own anything. All rights go to Dontnod Entertainment. Some inspired themes by Remedy Entertainment. Thank you.**


End file.
